All posts tagged Curriculum

Throw Away Your Curriculum

By | September 14, 2011 | Ministry Ideas, Resources | 1 Comment
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Okay, okay, you got me!  I don’t really mean to throw away your curriculum (that’s a real budget-buster!).  However, I would encourage you to put it on the shelf for week or two.  Check out what happened to me when I tried it.

Shake It Up!

We’ve been using Promiseland 5-G curriculum in our Children’s Church program for awhile now.  We bought a ton of it as it was going out of print (clearance!).  However, for Labor Day, I decided to shake things up a bit and grab a lesson off Tony’s site, Ministry to Children.  The lesson was simple to prepare and included a few elements that were new for our kids.   I have to tell you, it put such a new energy into our group!  Not only for the kids but for me as well.  I usually always teach the 2nd service Children’s Church with teachers rotating in the 1st service class.  Apparently, I gotten so used to the Promiseland format, that it wasn’t exciting for me (or the kids) anymore.  I had such fun presenting this new lesson and it really stuck with the kids.  So, I would encourage you to do the same.  Take a break from your current curriculum, even if it’s just for a week or two!  Try some of these great Fill-in curriculum ideas here or try Molly Pickens, which was a big hit with our kids.

What About You?

What do you do to keep your curriculum or program fresh?

 

Friends and Heroes: Great Video Series!

By | August 17, 2011 | Christmas, Ministry Ideas, Resources | 2 Comments
Friends and Heroes

Avoiding the Romans, managing a shop, saving refugees, and figuring out what’s important in life — that’s what the family we’re first introduced to in the Friends and Heroes series is up to.  I had the opportunity to review the first two episodes in this TV (now DVD) series, and I have to say — I’m impressed!

The cast of characters is both engaging and easy to relate to.  The plot is interesting and easy to follow.  And this series seems like it would appeal to a wide range of ages.  I watched Long Journey and A Friend in High Places with my 18 month old daughter and she was entranced up until the end (a harder task than you might think!)  I was also interested all the way through and think most kids wouldn’t find this series boring at all.

I love the fact that the family regularly uses Bible stories to illustrate points and to teach each other lessons throughout the plot line.  Even children use Bible accounts to encourage their parents!  As we make a push for parents to become better spiritual leaders in their house (through books/movements like Orange, Shift, and the Legacy Milestones), examples of integrating the Bible into everyday living are great to have around.  I found this  feature in the series to be especially exciting.

I wasn’t crazy about Portia’s choice in clothing.  Even if her navel baring dress might have been traditional Roman garb, I would think a little more modesty would be in order in this series.  After all, would you want your 14 year old daughter running around dressed like that?  I know I wouldn’t!

All in all, it looks to be a very promising series and I look forward to seeing more episodes.  I know this will have a place on my Children’s Ministry video resource shelf!

Check out the Trailer!

This series also has a corresponding curriculum on the website.  The video I sampled contains two episodes which gives churches and schools four lessons.  Churches and schools usually buy Friends and Heroes in a boxed Series Pack which contains 13 episodes and provides 26 lessons.  Friends and Heroes is currently offering a risk-free 60 day trial for DVD 1 and the four corresponding lessons.  I haven’t gotten a chance to check out the lessons yet, but I’ll let you know when I do!

Build a Better Blog: Write a Review

By | May 25, 2011 | 31DBBB, Resources | 1 Comment
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This week’s task in the Blogger Challenge (task #28) is to write a review.  Yeah!  One of the things I love about blogging is reading and reviewing — books, curriculum, experiences, you name it!  I have a huge stack on the bookshelf in need of reading and reviewing right now in fact!

Ideas for Reviews

In his workbook, Darren lists a few ideas for reviews:

Personally, I do a lot of books and curriculum resources.  Recently, we’ve been doing a unit on How to Use My Bible, so I’ve been trying to get reviews out on all the Cool Bible Tools we’ve discovered.  I also plan on doing a few reviews on classroom decorations we’ve found (easy on the budget and fun!).

Always Room for Improvement

Darren lists many tips in his workbook to improve your reviews.  Here’s two that I could improve on:

  • Visuals —anything that can help your readers visualize the product you’re reviewing will help. Use pictures, videos, screen captures, or diagrams wherever you can to add depth to your review post.
  • Details on How to Obtain the Item—if your review is about a product that can be purchased, give as much information on how they can buy it and how much it’ll cost.

What about you?

What kind of things do you review?  What would you like to be reviewing?  What are some tips for writing a great review? Leave me a comment!

 

 

Voyage with the Vikings: Book Review

By | February 24, 2011 | Preteens, Reviews | Comments Off
vikings

Peril.  Suspense.  Intrigue, and of course imagination! In the first book of this Adventures in Odyssey series, authors Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker capture the reader’s attention immediately.  If you’re looking for a book series for your preteen (especially boys!), this may be the ticket.

In this high-seas adventure, cousins Beth and Patrick visit Whit’s End on an ordinary Monday.  The day soon develops into an extraordinary experience as the kids take a ride in the Imagination Station in order to find a Viking Sunstone and to help save Whit’s friend, Albert.

The cousins encounter a few fierce Vikings, a few kind-hearted ones and some interesting sights and sounds.   They learn the value of friendship, forgiveness, and the art of making tough decisions.   They see how becoming a Christian can transform a person’s life and they learn how helping others sometimes requires sacrifice.  This book provides great talking points for preteens and their parents.  I would recommend it to anyone who  has a love for adventure!

Pre-order your copy of Voyage with the Vikings today for only $4.99!

Other Book Review Resources:

Fiction Addict

Thriving Family

She Does it Again!

By | February 18, 2011 | Reviews | 1 Comment
Who is My Shelter?

Engaging.  Believable.  Personal and Uplifting.   These are some of the words I would use to describe Neta Jackson’s book, Who is My Shelter? An offshoot from her wildly popular The Yada Yada Prayer Group series, the House of Hope series stands strong on its own accord.  With the characters you know and love from the Yada Yada series sprinkled throughout the story line, a former Neta reader gets just enough familiarity to help you feel comfortable but not so much that you feel you’ve “been down this road before”.

I received Who Is My Shelter? through the BookSneeze program with Thomas Nelson publishing.  Why they choose to put out book #4 in the series and not #1 is a bit unclear, but fortunately this book gave enough background information to keep the reader from feeling lost as the story line progressed.  Though I hadn’t read any of the other books, I could easily get into the swing of things, relating effortlessly with the characters at hand.  By the end of the book, though, I’ll admit I was very curious to get the “full story” of Gabby Fairbanks, the protagonist in this series, and will probably scoop up numbers 1-3 soon.

 

Author Neta Jackson has a captivating way of weaving faith into her story lines, allowing the reader to struggle along with the characters during hard time and rejoice during good times.  Though faith is not as strong of a theme in this series as in the Yada Yada series, it still plays a key role in many of the character’s lives.

There were a few disappointments as I read along.  For example, I was disheartened about Gabby’s choice to date another man while still married, even though she and her husband were separated.  We see so much of this “romantizing of the affair” in pop culture, I hated to see it seep into Christian fiction as well.   I also expected to hear a bit more from the Yada Yada ladies, but they were more like secondary characters at best.   After falling in love with the ladies while reading the original series, I was looking forward to “staying caught up on their lives” (yes, I know it’s fiction!).  However, the characters in this series are just as endearing and I quickly grew interested in their stories as well.

As usual, Neta Jackson did not disappoint.   Not normally a fan of fiction, I would read one of her books anytime.

Check out these related books:

Where Do I Go? (Yada Yada House of Hope, Book 1)

Who Do I Talk To? (Yada Yada House of Hope Series, Book 2)

Who Do I Lean On? (Yada Yada House of Hope Series, Book 3)

Harry Bentley’s Second Chance

Molly Pickens: How it All Got Started

By | August 30, 2010 | Elementary Age, Preschoolers, Reviews | Comments Off

How did the Fantastic World Come About?

Matthew Young, one of the producers and actor (Charles) in Molly Pickens describes the making of The Fantastic World curriculum “a God-thing”.    He and  his twin brother, Jared (Bill in Molly Pickens), didn’t start out with curriculum writing in mind.   They both graduated from the University of Georgia and established an interior painting company in 2008.  The brothers also did a little acting in an improv theatre on the side.  A local youth pastor friend asked the Young brothers to do a show (featuring the characters Bill and Charles) for the youth group at a lock-in.  That’s when the gears started turning.  Why stop at live shows?  Why not produce some films? The two buckled down and put together a smashing pilot for PBS which was quickly rejected.  Bummer.  Time for plan B.

The quirky pair continued to do live shows around town, geared towards youth group age, when they were asked by a friend, Julie Butler, to write some curriculum for the Children’s Ministry at her church.  They were also contacted by Phil Vischer (wow!) to do some stuff for Jelly Telly, as well as Dan Huffman who commissioned the makers of Molly to produce Zap Pack, a 6-week video series following the life of a preteen boy named Zack who is mysteriously zapped inside his bookbag for some important life lessons.

The children’s ministry curriculum they produced for Julie Butler became Molly Pickens and the Rainy Day Castle 10 Week Curriculum.  The fun didn’t end there, though.  This team has been hard at work producing other crazy curriculums to line the catalog including: Adventures in Values and the Odyssey of Tiny Pirate (both 5 week curriculums).

Want to know more?

Learn about the new series, Tiny Pirate, and the full story on the making of Molly Pickens.

Looking towards the future:

Matt and Jared Young started out with live shows, and that’s still very much their passion.  They hope to visit many of the churches who use the Molly Pickens Curriculum. They will do a side-splitting show at your church for $1,000 plus travel expenses.  Check out what the shows look like:

The Fantastic World Live Promo Video from The Fantastic World on Vimeo.

They’ve also put together a series called Adventures in Values.  The plan for this series is to have 5 volumes with 5 episodes each.  Each episode covers a key characteristic such as friendship, honesty, etc.  Volume one is currently available for purchase (special price of $50 until September 1st).

A Little More about Matt:

On his bookshelf:  Matt just finished up Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.  He’s usually engrossed in some kind of science fiction though.  Some favorites include The Alchemist, anything by Tolkien, and the Song of Fire and Ice Trilogy.

Favorite Kids’ Movie: He’s a huge Jim Henson fan and could watch a Pixarfilm any day of the week.

That’s all for now! Jump on over to The Fantastic World’s website to get more details on the curriculum, the brothers, watch videos, check out merchandise and more! Personally, I’m thinking about adding one of those cranky cactus shirts to my collection!

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