I am looking for a good, no-fluff sunday school curriculum

[PineFarmMom]

Dh and I are heading up our children's ministry at church now. I'm wanting to make some changes. We are an evangelical church, a mission of a Baptist church, so I'm looking for something that would line up doctrinally but not be fluffy like some of the curriculums I've seen in that realm. We were previously involved in a Bible church and LOVED how they taught the kids. It was thorough, solid, enjoyed by all the kids and not a bit fluffy. The problem is that they created the curriculum themselves and I don't know if they'll sell it.

 

I feel very led that I am to research and find something really sound that they will learn the Bible, spiritual truths, and how to follow the Spirit's leading. Does anyone have suggestions? What has your church done, even in addition to the curriculum, that have deepened your children's walk with the Lord? Thanks

 

Teresa

[momofkhm]

Gospel Light. It's a good curriculum for teachers to pick up and go. I do think the kids are learning, but it's, well, light.

 

We used something a few years ago. Found it Faith Weaver was more intense. I taught that year but it was so long ago, I don't remember much about it.

 

Check here. They seem to have a number of them that you can look at in one place.

[1bassoon]

Seriously take a look at Children Desiring God - out of John Piper's church, Bethlehem Baptist.

 

I don't have a link - pretty sure you can google it.

 

We used it for SS for a few years - the lessons are very God-centered, not kid-centered. We love that! It's not, "Noah builds a big boat." It's, "Noah obeys God and builds a boat. God keeps His promises and spares Noah and his family." Good stuff.

[Ohio12]

My friends and I are constantly asking each other if anyone's church has a good curriculum and everyone hates theirs! Like you said, fluffy and they try to make it so kid-friendly that the point is completely lost. VBS curriculums are even WORSE in my opinion.

 

I love the children's Bible "The Jesus Storybook Bible" and I also like Egermeirer's children's Bible. I wish one of those would be adapted into a curriculum. I am a huge John Piper fan. I wonder what his church uses? Keep us posted if you figure anything out.

 

PS: I would think your old church wouldn't be too stuffy about sharing.

[*anj*]

Have you seen the Calvary Chapel curriculum?

It's no fluff, no frills, but it's free and my kids have learned a lot with it.

[Hillary in KS]

I second Desiring God's SS curriculum.

 

Also, Great Commission Publications has great SS materials as well.

 

Our church currently uses Gospel Light, and I don't like it. I agree with the former poster in that it's light and fluffy.

[*anj*]

 

Also, Great Commission Publications has great SS materials as well.

 

 

 

I agree. I love GCP, it's really good stuff. But it is definitely Reformed, and I didn't get the impression that OP was looking for that. Hey OP, if you want something Reformed, definitely look at Great Commission. It is meaty and well, just really good. :iagree:

[Rose in BC]

Desiring God's children curriculum is great. We've used at a church and at home. Solid. I learned a lot.

[asher]

 

www.ebibleteacher.com/children/ :)

[momto3]

Children's Firm Foundations, put out by New Tribes Mission, is a wonderful program that might be just what you are looking for. http://www.ntmbooks.com/productDetails.jsp?sku=148970

 

We used this for almost two years in our homeschool but it is well suited to a Sunday School. The cost is very reasonable and the pictures are realistic. The study begins before the earth was created. (with God, the angels and Satan's fall) There is a skit that accompanies each lesson which my children loved. There is no fluff but a lot of good, Bible teaching.

[Faline]

Firm Foundations is good.

 

We use Abeka SS materials, and I really, really like them. (I am a SS teacher right now) Every lesson has a Bible story with large, gorgeous picture cards, a simple go-along paper craft (for the younger grades only), and a nice, color take-home paper that reinforces the lesson. It is very easy to teach. I highly recommend it!

[Alice]

I agree. I love GCP, it's really good stuff. But it is definitely Reformed, and I didn't get the impression that OP was looking for that. Hey OP, if you want something Reformed, definitely look at Great Commission. It is meaty and well, just really good. :iagree:

 

This is what we use. It's very good. We're Presbyterian though and it is definitely reformed.

[CookieMonster]

Click around for information about the different offerings.

[Soph the vet]

I am part of the body at Bethlehem (John Piper) and we use the Children Desiring God curriculum for Sunday School. I have assisted in the second and third grades and I can tell you it is solid meaty stuff, no fluff here. I think many of the adult helpers are challenged as well as the kids yet it is not so deep that it totally escapes the kids' grasp of the material. There are lots of visual illustrations of the concepts during the teaching time that the kids remember really well.

[~Tara~]

Another vote for Children Desiring God!!

 

That's about all my kids have ever known. They love it. We love it. When attending a new church, we ask if they use this curriculum :p

A friend and I attended the conference a few years ago as she and her hub were getting involved in a church plant. She had already been using the curriculum in their present church, but had just started. So, we wanted to go to the conference and 'load up' for the new endeavor.

Good good stuff.

[PineFarmMom]

Gospel Light. It's a good curriculum for teachers to pick up and go. I do think the kids are learning, but it's, well, light.

 

 

 

Yep. That's the one I was trying to avoid. lol

[PineFarmMom]

I am seeing Children Desiring God being a big hit here. I have a couple of questions:

 

First, I don't want to treat the Bible as a textbook. I want it to be very spirit-led. I am getting the feeling that is what CDG would be but I want to make sure. It's just like certain curriculum for homeschool we've used...some of it, yes, we have gotten Bible facts, but the heart was missing. I am desiring heart AND depth.

 

Second: How easy/difficult would it be as a pick-up-and-go curriculum? I am very interested, myself, in preparing and studying ahead, but any of our volunteers may not feel the same. There are only a few of us and I know a couple of them are fairly new in their faith. How would that curriculum jibe with what we have?

 

I'm grateful to all of you for your help!

 

Teresa

[FlockOfSillies]

It's the Sunday School curriculum produced by Grace Community Church (John MacArthur). We download the lessons and print only the pages we need, so it's not like buying a bazillion copies and only using every other page, kwim?

 

They provide lots of background info for the teacher in every lesson, which is great for teachers who may not have lots of confidence.

 

HTH. FYI, we used to use the one from Regular Baptist Press, and I found it "pick up and go" but wretched -- ankle-deep theology, and sometimes the interpretations/applications for the verses didn't even handle the verse in context. :mad:

 

But I highly recommend Generations of Grace. :hurray:

[TXSusan]

This year we switched to DiscipleLand curriculum. I am using Level 3 to teach 3rd & 4th graders. This whole year we are studying the life of Christ, in depth. This year they revised their curriculum for levels 1-4, next year they will revise levels 5-6. The lessons involve the students, and they read the Bible for themselves. There are excellent applications for each lesson.

 

The curriculum is translation neutral, so you can choose the translation your church uses. Bible verses for the quarter are available for download for about 5 different versions of the Bible. Other teacher resources are available for download as well. The lessons are not 'fluffy', but do have optional games, crafts or activites for some lessons. Also, I think that the materials are reasonably priced.

 

You can look at it at their site http://www.discipleland.com

 

Susan

[Harriet Vane]

Here's a link:

 

http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/

[Harriet Vane]

I am seeing Children Desiring God being a big hit here. I have a couple of questions:

 

First, I don't want to treat the Bible as a textbook. I want it to be very spirit-led. I am getting the feeling that is what CDG would be but I want to make sure. It's just like certain curriculum for homeschool we've used...some of it, yes, we have gotten Bible facts, but the heart was missing. I am desiring heart AND depth.

 

Second: How easy/difficult would it be as a pick-up-and-go curriculum? I am very interested, myself, in preparing and studying ahead, but any of our volunteers may not feel the same. There are only a few of us and I know a couple of them are fairly new in their faith. How would that curriculum jibe with what we have?

 

I'm grateful to all of you for your help!

 

Teresa

 

First of all, the Bible will be treated in the manner your teachers treat it. Having said that, however, I can also assure you that the CDG curriculum does offer a lot of application opportunities and prayer suggestions that are more heart-led. I find it to be a good balance.

 

Second, I would advocate taking the time to show your newer teachers how to prepare. It is NOT too much to ask someone to prepare--it takes an hour or less a week no matter what curriculum you use. Perhaps a more experienced teacher can sit down with a newer teacher one-on-one to go over the best way to do this?

 

Having said that, I find the CDG curriculum very easy to use and well-organized. In fact, I find it much easier to use than the more elaborate, cartoonish curriculums (Gospel Light, Discipleland, Charismalife, Faithweaver etc.). The strength of this curriculum is its simplicity.

 

Finally, I have to also recommend a great teacher training resource, a book called Follow Me As I Follow Christ. The chapters are short, focused, clearly explained, and include application questions. Here's a link:

 

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=10953&netp_id=213554&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=details

[PineFarmMom]

I looked at Growing with Grace and it sounds pretty good. I'm trying to find a sample on there and will check it out further when I find that.

 

Strider, I appreciate your comments on CDG. It sounds very good. The price is steep for our little church, but if I feel God is leading us to that, I'm sure He will make a way. At this point, we have around 15-20 children, total, 2-12 years old. We are going to purchase the curriculum and divide them, for now, into 2 main groups, 7 and under and 8-12 (this has most to do with the lack of willing teachers). I was wondering if the curriculum would fit well to pick one of the older levels for the 8-12 group and pick maybe the kindergarten curr. for the youngers? Would I be better just picking another curriculum entirely until our church grew enough to divide the ages more? Thanks for the help.

 

Teresa

[Harriet Vane]

I looked at Growing with Grace and it sounds pretty good. I'm trying to find a sample on there and will check it out further when I find that.

 

Strider, I appreciate your comments on CDG. It sounds very good. The price is steep for our little church, but if I feel God is leading us to that, I'm sure He will make a way. At this point, we have around 15-20 children, total, 2-12 years old. We are going to purchase the curriculum and divide them, for now, into 2 main groups, 7 and under and 8-12 (this has most to do with the lack of willing teachers). I was wondering if the curriculum would fit well to pick one of the older levels for the 8-12 group and pick maybe the kindergarten curr. for the youngers? Would I be better just picking another curriculum entirely until our church grew enough to divide the ages more? Thanks for the help.

 

Teresa

 

Yes you can make CDG work with larger groups. Pick the curriculum that fits the OLDER kids, rather than the younger ones in the class. It's much easier to simplify a curriculum to youngers than try to modify for older/advanced students. You would then simply train your teachers to include more simple observation questions for the benefit of the younger kids.

 

I would not put 7yo kids with 2yos. I would be more likely to make a dividing line at age 4. Can you swing three classes?

 

If you can swing 3 classes, here's what I would do:

 

Nursery (birth through age 4): Don't bother with a formal curriculum. Use a children's Bible storybook and coloring pages. There are many reproducible coloring books at any Christian bookstore.

 

K-3rd grade: Use the curriculum that would fit the third graders best.

 

4th-7th grade: Use the curriculum that would fit the oldest kids best. At this age you might consider giving the older kids more of a leadership role, like leading a prayer time or being in charge of memory verse activities.

 

Best wishes.