The Teaching Little Ones syllabus is based on the following principles:
- that Sunday School ministry is fundamentally about teaching children the Word of God, and modelling godliness to them;
- that God's Word can be taught in a meaningful and relevant way to young children;
- that the developmental differences across this age group require significant differences in the way they are taught the truths of Scripture from year to year;
- that Sunday School teachers need to put some preparation into a lesson in order to ensure they themselves have a good understanding of the passage or theme, but that they often need help in knowing how to present the material in a meaningful, memorable and ‘age-appropriate’ way;
- that teachers need several easy to implement ‘activity’ ideas to choose from for each lesson;
- that the material should be as affordable as possible to local churches, big or small.
Teaching Little Ones is comprised of six years of material:
For pre-schoolers
(i.e. ages 2 to 5)
What better time to start teaching children than when they are young. Paul reminds Timothy that he had the privilege of knowing the holy Scriptures “from infancy” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).
We want to help young children learn about God so that they can develop a relationship with him. We are not wanting just to increase their head knowledge but focus on a relationship with their Creator. We want, therefore, to help children to grow up knowing that God made the world around them and that he loves them.
First Steps
A year's syllabus designed for 2-3 year olds—children who are too young to join the Sunday School classes for older children, but are ready for more Christian input than they would get in the traditional church crèche. The aim of ‘First Steps’ is to teach these young children simple concepts as simply as possible—helping them learn about God and develop a relationship with him at their level, knowing that God is great, that he made the world around them, and that he loves them. They are also introduced to Jesus in the Christmas story.
Learning about God
Providing a year's worth of lessons, this is the first part of a syllabus designed for 3-5 year olds—children who are not yet at school. The aim of ‘Learning about God’ is to provide simple lessons for children which help them learn foundational truths about God and how they can relate to him. Children are taught about the great and wonderful God who made and loves them. They are introduced to the Bible as God's book, and Jesus as God's son.
Introducing the Bible
Providing a year's worth of lessons, this is the second part of a syllabus designed for 3-5 year olds—children who are not yet at school. The aim of ‘Introducing the Bible’ is to provide children with an overview of the story of the Bible and a basic understanding of some of its key characters and events. The year begins with ten lessons on Jesus from Mark's gospel, including the significance of Easter. The lessons from the Old Testament are chronological and give the children an introduction to themes and characters covered in more depth in future years—creation, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, and David. There are also lessons about loving others, thanking God and praying.
For those at school
(i.e. a syllabus for the first three years of school; 5 to 8 year olds)
Promises
This is the first part of a syllabus designed for 5-8 year olds—children in their first few years of school. It explores the biblical themes of ‘promise’ and ‘fulfilment’ and includes
lessons about Abraham, the Israelites and the Promised Land, and God's promised Son, Jesus. There are also special lessons for Christmas and Easter picking up the ‘promise’ theme and showing how all God's promises find their ‘Yes’ in Jesus.
Kingship
This is the second part of a syllabus designed for 5-8 year olds—children in their first few years of school.This syllabus explores the theme of ‘kingship’ in the Bible. It begins in the Old Testament with the Israelites' request for a human king. After looking at how various kings (like Saul, David and Solomon) ultimately fail to obey God, the children learn about Jesus as the promised king, the obedient king, the servant king, the King of kings, and our king.
Salvation
This is the third part of a syllabus designed for 5-8 year olds—children in their first few years of school. Children are introduced to the important biblical theme of ‘salvation’ through key characters (Elijah, Jonah and Paul) and events (the Flood, the Exodus). Children also learn that the message of God's salvation ultimately points to Jesus, the saviour (rescuer) to whom they must personally respond. The syllabus contains eight lessons which clearly explain the gospel in an accessible way, as well as six lessons on living the Christian life. Salvation is also learnt through special Christmas and Easter lessons.
Important Note: The syllabus is based on four terms of 10 weeks each, or 40 lessons per year. There are therefore 40 lessons on each CD-Rom.
Promises, Kingship and Salvation, whilst building on each other in some senses (and ideally done in that order), each stand alone, and so can work in any order. This is particularly worth noting if you have a smallish Sunday School which has composite classes in this age bracket.
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