All posts tagged Molly Pickens

Molly Pickens: The Whole Story

By | August 31, 2010 | My Thoughts | Comments Off

If you read my original review of Molly Pickens you’ll know I had a few issues with the curriculum including:

  • Lessons are too abstract for real-life application
  • Too much emphasis on “power of love”
  • Videos aren’t lesson driven enough/not enough biblical content

After talking with Matthew Young, my issues with Molly were cleared up a bit.  Here’s what he shared:

Media-Enriched, not Media-driven

Molly Pickens curriculum is teacher-driven, media-enriched.  It is not a DVD-based curriciulum.  Unlike 252 Basics and other DVD curriculums, the video portion of Molly Pickens is designed to be a talking point for the teacher.  It can be used much in the same way you would teach a biblical point from a secular movie.  Bill and Charles will mention the Bible point or Scripture passage, but this mention is intended to be a starting point, not the teaching method.

The Teacher is the Main Character

Lessons are presented in an abstract way during the video so the teacher can customize the Bible story based on his audience/class.  If he has younger kids, he can pick up on the more basic parts of the Scripture.  If older kids comprise most of the class, more life-application can be given.  The teacher knows their class the best, so the producers of Molly didn’t want to step into the teacher’s territory and teach the lesson for them.  When the teacher drives the lesson home (as opposed to Bill and Charles), it is more personal, more meaningful, and more tailored to meet the needs of the class.  All good things.

There’s a Reason for All that Love!

Love was a huge focus during Molly’s adventures in the Fantastic World.   The reason is this: John 13:35 says that the world will know we are Christ’s disciples by our love.  But what is this love exactly?  How does it manifest itself in a Christian’s life?  That’s exactly what kids learn along with Molly.  Love is having faith in someone, it’s encouraging someone, its being humble (not a know it all!).  Love involves sacrifice and forgiveness.  One of the goals of this curriculum was to help kids understand what it means to show Christ-like love to others in a real way.  When Bill and Charles are moping around and down in the dumps in Episode four, Molly shows them love by encouraging them.   Towards the end of the curriculum, we learn about Christ’s sacrifice because Molly has to make a loving sacrifice of her own.  In light of this insight, the love emphasis makes a lot more sense.

Thanks so much to Matthew Young for providing these tidbits about the curriculum.  I’m glad to share them so everyone might be able to use Molly to its full potential!

More Molly:

How did Molly Pickens come about?

New Series: Odyssey of Tiny Pirate (Fantastic World series)

Original Goals of the Curriculum

Goals for Molly Pickens (interview with Matthew Young)

By | August 31, 2010 | My Thoughts | Comments Off
I’m excited to announce I had a chance to talk with Matthew Young, one of the creators of the Fantastic World series last Thursday.  After filling me in on some insight about Molly Pickens and talking about his recent release of Tiny Pirate, he shared some of the original goals of the Fantastic World series:

Not Your Every-day Curriculum

The adventures in the Fantastic World were never intended to be an on-going everday curriculum.  Instead, Molly Pickens was designed to break up the monotony a bit for teachers and kids.  It offers a little bit of an “off the wall” break for summer-time or when you’re in-between other curriculums.  (Many curriculums do not publish summer materials, so this is a great resource to that end!)

Something Worth Doing Well

High quality production is very important to the Young brothers.  They didn’t want to produce a hurried, cheesy Christian film that is boring at best and the cause of embarrassment at worse (there’s already too many of those type of films on the market!)  Instead, they wanted something that was of high value, something the kids could really engage in because “when a child is engaged, they will absorb more of the lesson” (Matthew Young, interview 8/19/2010).  I must say, they succeeded in this goal.  The sets are beautiful, and even though I’m still not crazy about Bill and Charles, the acting is certainly fluid and polished.

It All Goes Together

The small group lessons, large group skits, and DVD-clips were always intended to be used together.  Without one component, it really isn’t a complete curriculum.  This is unlike many other curriculums on the market, so keep that in mind when considering the Fantastic World series.

Be sure to check out the rest of the interview!

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!

Molly Pickens: It this curriculum a keeper?

By | August 12, 2010 | Elementary Age, Preschoolers | 8 Comments

Two weeks down…

We’ve completed two weeks of this curriculum in Children’s Church and I’m ready to make my final verdict.  If you missed the beginning of the review, check out Large Group DVD lesson, Small Group lessons, and testing it out on the kids.   After the first week of Molly Chickens (as the kids so fondly call her), everyone was begging to continue the video.  I was a little wary about whether or not they were really getting any biblical application from the Fantastic World, but choose to reserve judgement for another week.

At the start of week two, I asked the kids what they had learned the week before, and to my amazing their recall level was great.  They knew the memory verse, which I thought was important since there wasn’t a whole lot of biblical content besides that during week one’s video.  During week two’s DVD lessson, the biblical content was stronger, but not as much emphasis on the week’s Bible verse.  I particularly liked how during week one, the verse was introduced pre-DVD during small group and then was recited by Molly in the movie.  The kids loved that and it seemed to really drive the importance of the verse home.  That didn’t happen week two, and I wonder if it will during other weeks.

Conclusion

Looking at the big picture, I think this would be a great “summer time” curriculum.  Something that is a little less intensive, but a lot of fun for the kids.  Certainly it’s wholesome and engaging, easy for any newcomer to pick up on, and super teacher friendly (if you are computer/media savvy).  As far as long-term disciple making, I think it’s missing the mark a bit.  The lessons are too abstract for kids (power of love, power of faith, etc).  The week’s Bible story is only briefly mentioned and could easily be lost among the story line, crazy antics of Bill and Charles and funny one-liners (speaking of which, the kids go crazy about the “Charles, you smell!” lines).  If the teacher spent some time post-DVD actually in the Bible with the kids, reviewing the story and talking about life application, it would be better.  As it stands now, many of the spiritual themes seem applicable mostly to Molly and the Fantastic World, but not as tangible faith actions for the listening audience.

Final take: Good resource, but not the greatest curriculum I’ve come across.  I hear the makers of Molly are working on another series, so I’ll be anxious to see what they come up with this time!

Win a Copy Free!

Pick up your copy from Abingdon’s website. Price is $129.00 for this 10 week series.  Or, leave a comment for a chance to win my copy!  Drawing is on August 30th, 2010.

More on Molly Pickens:

Large Group Lesson

Small Group Lesson

Interview with creator Matthew Young!

Where did the idea of Molly come from anyway?

Fantastic World new series: Tiny Pirate

Other Curriculum Reviews:

Bible in Life Early Elementary
Bible in Life Elementary
Voice of the Matrys: Kids of Courage
The Lads Preteen Curriculum
David C. Cook’s Rio
Group’s Faithweaver Parent

Molly Pickens Curriculum Review: What do the kids say?

By | August 10, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The proof is in the pudding

While watching the Large Group DVD lessons, I was a little put-off by the constant lunacy of Bill and Charles.  My husband however, thought the kids would get a kick out it.  You know what they say: the proof is in the pudding, so we tried it out in Children’s Church.

Introducing Molly Chickens!

When I introduced the series, the kids all thought I said Molly Chickens, which they found extremely funny, and the laughter didn’t end there.  They liked many of the antics of the Fantastic friends.

The Magic of Make-Believe

The younger kids, especially (ages 4-6) were especially enraptured with Molly’s Fantastic World.  When she first opens the special box, one of our four-year-olds gasped and his mouth flew open.  As Molly journeyed through the light filled tunnel, his mouth hung open in fascination.  When Molly was peeking out from inside the toy chest, this little boy bent over in his chair to try and get a better look!  Talk about getting caught up in the moment!

Paying Close Attention

The kids didn’t miss a thing, catching all the little mutterings of the characters, even when they were “in the background”.  When Molly’s dad mumbled something about his paperwork taking 27 hours, one girl exclaimed, “That’s a long time!”  When the box-maker was talking and asked Molly to have a seat, I took a look at the kids.   You could see on many of their faces they were thinking about sitting down too, and then realized they already were!

Not All Characters Are Created Equal

The kids weren’t impressed with the clock — they didn’t laugh at anything he had to say.  They thought Bill and Charles were pretty funny, but did audibly question some of their antics: “Why are they doing that?”

Box-maker, however, was a different story.  Personally, I like box-maker the best because he had something useful to say and seemed to have an IQ higher than 8.  The kids, however, found box-maker… well, boring I think.  Whenever he began to talk, they started getting restless, checking on their shoes, shifting in their seats, playing with mystery toys suddenly found in their pockets.  I thought maybe it was just a coincidence… they were getting tired of sitting just about the time box-maker came on.  However, as soon as “public service announcement” popped up, they were completely engaged.  When box-maker returned a few minutes later, so did the restlessness.

Kids weren’t impressed with Rainy Day either… they said she was dirty (and were offended that she called children dirty, when she was obviously more dirty), lived in a cardboard castle, and had a non-talking puppet for a friend.  Poor excuse for a villain.

Can We Watch this Again Next Week?

To finish out the lesson, I played the audio letter from Charles, which they loved.  I only planned on showing one week as a “test run”, but the kids begged to watch more next week.  Well, why not finish out the series?  I’m encouraged by the kids response, but wonder — Just because they are begging to watch more of something, does that mean it’s really helping their spiritual formation?  Is Molly Pickens a great discipleship tool or simply great entertainment?  Stay tuned for the conclusion!

Interested in Buying?

Price is $129.00 for this 10 week series.  You  can get it from Abingdon’s website.

More on Molly Pickens:

Large Group Lesson

Small Group Lesson

Conclusion

What’s included in this kit? (coming soon!)

Interview with creator Matthew Young!

Where did the idea of Molly come from anyway?

Fantastic World new series: Tiny Pirate

Other Curriculum Reviews:

Bible in Life Early Elementary
Bible in Life Elementary
Voice of the Matrys: Kids of Courage
The Lads Preteen Curriculum
David C. Cook’s Rio
Group’s Faithweaver Parent

Molly Pickens: Curriculum Review

By | August 9, 2010 | My Thoughts | 3 Comments

It was an ordinary day for little Molly Pickens.  She was playing in the back of her dad’s antique store when she discovered an old box which turned out to be a portal to The Fantastic World.  This DVD-based curriculum series, published by Abingdon Press,  follows Molly as she journeys each week to the Fantastic World to learn from her Fantastic friends: Charles, Bill, and Box-maker.

First Impressions

I must say, I wasn’t a big fan of the cover.  It looks a little dated and jumbled — not something I would have picked up off a shelf for a closer look.

Promo videos are included on the DVD – what a great feature.  The one with Cranky Cactus was very funny, but mostly for adults who understand the downfall of HMO’s.  The other one seemed… well a little odd without any context of the story line.  Great concept, but might use a little tweaking.

Trailer – also on the DVD.  This was great.  Catchy, not too long, and would pique my interest if I were a kid.

Large Group (DVD section)

In this 10-20 minute video (each week varies), kids watch as Molly journeys to the Fantastic World and learns a lesson about God’s love.   In the first segment of the series, “Strength”, Molly is reminded that she can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13).

Bill and Charles Peterson, brothers who live in the Fantastic World, are exceedingly stupid.  Annoyingly so to me, but funny to my husband.  We couldn’t agree on how kids would perceive these “less than bright” brothers, so I agreed to show it in Children’s Church the next day to test it out. To me however, the brothers low IQ was a serious distraction to the storyline.

Who’s Power?

The power of love seemed to be very overplayed in this movie — almost to the point of self-glorification.  Molly was told that she had “powers beyond belief” and that love could do countless things like heal the lame, etc.  Molly said it was Jesus that did those things, but the power of love was emphasized much more than Jesus.  After talking with Matthew Young, one of the producers of this curriculum, the emphasis on love makes more sense.  Check out the whole story here.

Even in the later episodes, the emphasis is on “power of service”, “power of humility” and  ”power of love” again.  I think it really shifts the focus the wrong direction.  I would like to see the Bible story a little more obvious.  God is mentioned a bit more in the later episodes, but not enough to really consist of a “lesson”, I would say.

A few more things…

  • Why is Santa being presented as truth in this series?  For those kids who know Santa isn’t real, is this going to make them think everything else in the lesson is “make-believe”, including Jesus?
  • If Rainy Day is supposed to be mean, why doesn’t she look the slightest bit threatening? And why does she live in a cardboard castle?  Bill and Charles have a real house, shouldn’t she have a real castle?
  • Love the sound effects – the boinks and stretches, etc.  I think this really helps to keep kids engaged.
  • Good dad/daughter relationship.  That’s always nice to see.
  • Cranky cactus is a pretty big hit.  I particularly like his rendition of “Little Strummer Boy” in one of the later episodes.  I can just imagine kids falling on the floor laughing at this one!
  • Love the review at the end… from the “fly on the wall” perspective.  It’s great that the series has a built-in review for the kids.
I’m anxious to see how the rest of this curriculum plays out.

Let’s continue the review:

Small Group Lesson (Discussion Questions, etc)

Testing it out on the Kids

Conclusion (posted August 12th)

How did Molly Pickens come about?

New Series: Odyssey of Tiny Pirate (Fantastic World series)

Interested in Buying?

Price is $129.00 for this 10 week series.  You  can get it from Abingdon’s website.  Or post a comment on the Conclusion post to for your chance to win a copy!

Other Curriculum Reviews:

Bible in Life Early Elementary
Bible in Life Elementary
Voice of the Matrys: Kids of Courage
The Lads Preteen Curriculum
David C. Cook’s Rio
Group’s Faithweaver Parent