Planning the Church's Educational Ministry

Curriculum Overview Spring 2007 This list is available in a pdf: click here (*Prices listed subject to change.  Please check the individual websites for ordering information and prices.) Curriculum with United Church of Christ Connection: Curriculum Name:  Bible Quest NOTE:  Bible Quest will be discontinued after Spring of 2008     Publisher:  United Church Press and Multi-denominational group. Foundational Statement:  We understand the Bible as story.  We encounter and interpret the story.  We live the story in the world as disciples.       Type:  Bible Story based with theme for each year.  Theme for ’07-’08 “Salvation.” Ages:  Toddler - Adult      Information:  www.biblequestlink.com *Cost per Quarter:  Leader guide: $13.50/teacher, Resource pack: $16.50/class, story card - $4.75/student Curriculum Name:  Gather Round:  Hearing and Sharing God’s Good News Publisher:  Brethren & Mennonite with UCC input Foundational Statement:   Bible Story centered with an emphasis on strengthening the connection between church and home, discipleship, and peace and justice issues. Type:  Biblically based on three foundational texts; Luke 10:27 (…where two or three are gathered…), Matthew 18:20 (the golden Rule) and Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (the shema). Ages:  Toddler through Grade 12 and materials for parents and caregivers. Information:  www.gatherround.org *Cost per quarter:  Leader Guide: $7.95/teacher, Student magazine: $6.95/student, Classroom Pack: $19.95/class, Music CD $12.95/year, Parent guide:  $8.95/family. Curriculum Name:  Seasons of the Spirit     Publisher:  United Church Press and Multi-denominational group Foundational Statement:   To provide God's people with lectionary-based, ecumenical resources that empower all ages to be transformed in Christ as they explore meaning and mystery in the Bible and  celebrate in worship, sacraments, education, and service Type:  Lectionary based        The congregational life material ties the learning in Sunday school to worship experience.  Ages:  Age 2 through adult. Information:  www.spiritseasons.com *Cost per year:  Congregational life - $196/year, Graded leader guide $152.50/year/ age group.  Includes reproducible sheets. Other available Curriculum: Curriculum Name:  Best of Whole People of God Publisher:  WoodLake Publishing            Foundational Statement:  Explore, live and celebrate our faith with lessons related to everyday life.            Type:  Story based with all materials download-able from the internet.  You print only what you need.    Ages:  Nursery - Youth     Information:  www.wholepeopleofgod.com *Cost per year:  Based on the size of your congregation - From $109 to $575/year. Curriculum Name:  Exploring Faith Publisher:  Cokesbury  (United Methodist Church) Foundational Statement:   A Bible study for Sunday school that enables children to experience God through Jesus Christ. Type:  Bible Story based.  4 year quarterly scope and sequence.             Ages:  Preschool through Youth.             Information:  www.cokesbury.com *Cost per quarter:  teacher guide - $7.75/teacher, student book - $5.99/student, Class pack - $15.50/class, CD - $10.99/class, Fun Pack - $2.99/student                                                                                                Curriculum:  Life Together Publisher:  Augsburg Fortress (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Foundational Statement:  Connecting a person’s life to the Word and then linking back to daily life builds strong faith. Type:  Lectionary based with most focus on the Gospel.        Ages:  2 to adult     Information:  www.augsburgfortress.org Cost:  Please refer to the Augsburg Fortress web site for more information. Curriculum:  Witness Publisher:  Augsburg Fortress (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Foundational Statement:  Witness Sunday school curriculum teaches kids to "Learn from the Bible to Live the Good News." Witness Goals: Know, Grow, Show.  Every Witness session is easy to use and has three goals - know, grow, and show - that carry out the theme and broaden both teachers' and learners' understanding of the story. These goals help everyone remember what it means to be a witness in the world. A witness is someone who KNOWS the Word, GROWS in Faith, and SHOWS Service. Type:  Committed to teaching the salvation story each year within a complete two year cycle (Year Red and Year Blue) of well-loved Bible stories. Ages:  Pre-K through Grade 6 Information:  www.augsburgfortress.org Cost:  Cost:  Please refer to the Augsburg Fortress web site for more information. Curriculum:  One Room Sunday School Publisher:  Cokesbury        Foundational Statement:  Living and Learning God’s word    with quarterly scope and sequence -  33% OT and 66%NT        Type:  Ages 3 to Middle School ALL in ONE ROOM with Bible story based lessons Information:  www.cokesbury.com Cost:  $55.00 for each kit/Teacher Book $12.00 Curricula which could be used with Rotation Workshop Model: (This is not a complete listing of all rotation curricula but rather one’s which present a theological perspective which is consistent with that found in many United Church of Christ congregations.) Come Join the Circle - www.logosproductions.com Come Join the Circle welcomes learners and leaders into the heart of the Bible’s great stories.  These rotation-style learning materials help create the kind of learning environment where the Bible is at the center and fun and creativity abound. Features of Come Join the Circle: Holistic - Relies on leading mainline theology -  Honors all people and cultures through language, music, and art -  Encourages learners to live their faith in community - Raises awareness of the wider world Inexpensive - Each unit includes all necessary materials for students and teachers - One unit equips any size church school - Each unit can be used for 3–5 weeks - Resources are reproducible and reusable Intergenerational - Ages 3–12 explore the same story each unit - Reproducible newsletter shares themes with the whole congregation Supportive - Each unit includes teacher training - Come Join the Circle Planning Guide ($12.95) offers program overview and additional background information Complete - Biblical and educational backgrounds included for leaders - Three to six storytelling options - Response activities organized in eight different learning centers - Resource comes with print music, reproducible lyrics, CD, and color teaching visuals Price - $99.00/unit   Cornerstone - http://www.cstones.com/ Cornerstones Publishing is committed to supporting and empowering the educational ministries of the local church by providing creative, flexible, biblically sound educational resources. With engaging curriculum, both participants and teachers will develop a faith that is integrated with their life experiences. Cornerstones Publishing is the only Christian education curriculum that allows you to customize your education program. Our unique CD format allows you to custom fit the curriculum to meet the educational goals of your congregation. Cornerstones offers you: The convenience of over 600 lessons at your fingertips with our exclusive CD format - Every story has up to 11 lessons for you to choose from - The ability to choose one lesson at a time, a full unit or a full year of curriculum - The ability to have instant access to lessons via our web site ordering process - The ability to edit the lessons to suit your congregation - The ability to email the lessons to your teachers.          Price:  Each 11 part Unit is $165.00 or purchase 1 full year for 1100.00 Firelight - http://www.augsburgfortress.org/learning/sundayschool/firelight/ Firelight Bible Learning Curriculum is an exciting new curriculum that teaches age-old stories in brand new formats. So while Danielle likes drama, Justin's into computers, and Kelly just digs snack time — Firelight will touch all of their lives. Firelight is organized into units — each containing materials to explore five Bible stories in two to four sessions. So, a single five-story Firelight unit can be used for as few as ten weeks to as many as twenty weeks. To add to the flexibility, units are undated — allowing churches to teach the stories whenever they want. Price - contact the publisher Potters Workshops - http://www.potters-workshops.com/ The Potter’s Workshops writes and publishes Christian Sunday School Curriculum for the Workshop Rotation Model using the multiple intelligences theory of learning by Howard Gardner and is biblically based using key themes and concepts. The Potter’s Workshops believes that the workshop rotation model is more than just snazzy room environments and fun activities. We believe that Biblical concepts drive the rotational units, stories and engaging activities are the vehicles, and the room environment is an enhancement. The Potter's Workshops curriculum will uphold the integrity of your workshop rotation model Sunday school. It honors children as multi-dimensional learners with God-given multiple intelligences. It is solidly based on theology, current research in education, and educational best practices.   THE POTTER'S WHEEL WORKSHOPS PROVIDES YOU WITH multiple intelligence based curriculum, biblically based curriculum using key themes and concepts, theologically sound curriculum, creatively designed curriculum for children Kindergarten through Sixth Grade, rotational units on CD that are adaptable and easily modified to your Church's needs, curriculum that makes spiritual connections to children's lives, teacher-friendly lessons. Price:  $110/unit - purchase multiple units and receive a discount. PowerExpress - www.unitedchurchpress.com Ideal for churches using a rotation format where children alternate between learning stations each week. Engage children in Bible stories and characters by using your volunteers' skills as artists, cooks, musicians, technicians, or fun-loving teachers! Designed for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, this curriculum provides complete lesson plans, scripts, and activities, as well as ideas for station setups, and a complete listing of resources needed. Also in each unit are a CD, print music, and lyric transparencies.  Each resource includes eight stations: Art, Computer, Cooking, Games, Music, Science, Storytelling, Video Price:  $110.00/unit Other: Curriculum Style:  Godly Play Foundational Statement:  “The educational theory of Godly Play is rooted in the pre-history of our species with respect to the use of ritual, story, and the creative process. Unfortunately, postmodern children are losing their ability to be active participants in narrative and ritual, which impairs their use of their own natural creativity (imago dei). The use of Montessori’s approach to education has been adapted to Godly Play in order to stimulate children’s active participation in story and ritual and to awaken their creativity for the learning of the language ,sacred stories, parables, liturgical action and silence of the Christian tradition. This is the most appropriate kind of language to cope with the existential limits to our being and knowing.  The above combination of factors enables children (and adults) to become playfully orthodox. They become rooted in their own tradition and at the same time open to others, to new ideas and the future in creative ways.  - From the Godly Play web site For more information on this style of teaching and to look at products go to www.godlyplay.org.