Noah. Abraham. David and Goliath. The Good Samaritan. As a parent of a preschooler at Watermark, you are probably aware that your kids are being taught Bible stories each week in their Starting Blocks classes. But do you know that there is more to what we are doing than just teaching random Bible stories? Our goal with the Starting Blocks curriculum is that your kids will know the key stories of the Bible by the time they move into elementary ministry, and also that they understand how those stories all fit together into bigger story – a Big Picture.
The Big Picture
The Starting Blocks curriculum is structured to give preschoolers a solid foundation of Bible knowledge by the time they reach elementary age. We cover 50 Bible stories on an annual cycle. The same cycle of stories is repeated each year as a child moves up through Starting Blocks. Each successive year adds different activities and additional depth and application of the story. A child who goes all the way through Starting Blocks will go through the cycle of Bible stories 3-4 times.
How It Is Organized
The individual stories are organized chronologically from Creation (on Promotion Sunday in August) through Revelation (at the end of May). This school year schedule is supplemented with summer units on the Parables of Jesus, Serving Others, and additional Old Testament stories.
Using the chronology of the Scriptures, the curriculum emphasizes to preschoolers the big picture of the story that God is telling in the Bible. The connections from one story to the next as well as how each story fits in The Big Picture are an important part of this curriculum. The goal is for preschoolers to not only have a solid knowledge of the key stories of the Bible but also an understanding of how they all fit together.
Teaching Truths
Teaching truths drawn from the Scripture are presented with each week’s lesson. As God’s Story unfolds through the year, those truths are repeated again and again. For example, starting with Noah, preschoolers hear about how God always keeps His promises, and then at Christmas how God kept His promise to rescue us from sin by sending Jesus, and in Revelation they learn that God will keep His promise about a wonderful place called Heaven!
Inside the Classroom
The Bible story for each lesson is told both through the classroom teachers reading the story from either The Beginner’s Bible or The Jesus Storybook Bibleand in a creative way by a storyteller. Age-appropriate classroom activities support the storyline and teaching truths. Activities range from crafts to games to special snacks.
Partnering With Parents
The most important part of the Starting Blocks lesson actually happens with you at home. Each weekend this blog lists a summary of the week’s story along with additional activities you can use to reinforce the lesson at home. There is a weekly post for parents of elementary kids as well. Take advantage of this resource and be your kids' spiritual superhero by helping them know God’s Word and, even more importantly, the God of the Bible!