Recently I spent 5
evenings helping with Bible School at our church. This is an
undertaking that I had not experienced in the last 25 years because
our youngest is 36 years old. Bible School has definitely evolved
even more since the days of my youth when marching around and singing
ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS was the most active part of the morning.
I was very pleased to
find that some very sound educational theories had been tapped in the
preparation of the curriculum materials. The Bible School lessons
were steeped in the concrete with full immersion lessons prepared to
teach the concepts of the Bible stories. This particular curriculum
was WILDERNESS ESCAPE: “Where God Guides and Provides!”
The children were divided
by age level and assigned to one of 8 tribes (Asher, Benjamin, Gad,
Joseph, Judah, Levi, Rueben, and Simeon). My tribe was Simeon which
consisted of a small group of rising 2nd graders. We had a
tribal rug to sit upon. We, like the real Israelites, rolled up our
rug and carried it with us as we traveled. We also traveled with a
basket to carry our goods from the Market Place. We had tribal
meetings and we wrote a tribal cheer to the tune of BINGO! (a little
artistic license was taken to make the name fit the song, but the
kids felt comfortable with it)
“There was a tribe that
had a name and Simeon was its name-o!
“S-i-meon! S-i-meon!
S-i-meon!”
“And Simeon was its
name-o!”
The Market Place was a
very “hands-on” experience for the children. It was a great
improvement over the traditional approach to classroom “arts 'n
crafts.” Each decorated tent in the Market Place represented some
aspect of life for the Israelites (tents are pictured below). In the
tent posted as daily life or chores the children washed clothes,
kneaded bread, pumped water, churned butter, and crushed grapes. In
the tent representing the artisans the children molded clay, sewed
sandals, wove mats, braided ropes, and strung tambourines. In the
tent where food was sampled the children tasted manna (cereal),
hummus, figs, grapes, cheese, and sand!
Built into the evenings
were opportunities to play outside and experience some of the
physical challenges that the Israelites faced in the desert. Relay
races were created to simulate the problems faced by the tribal
members like camel spit, long marches, melting headdresses, packing
and unpacking, and physical stamina. The favorite relay was the
“inflatable bounce house” obstacle course. Below are pictures to
illustrate how serious the tribe members were about being fast and
strong!
During the final tribal
meeting of each evening, the children heard a Bible verse and were
asked to report God sightings. The reported God sightings were
printed on “footprint” stickers which were added to the posters
illustrating Moses' trek. One little guy in our tribe was so sincere
when he knew that finding his lost pig, Pork Chop, and his lost truck
while on vacation were truly God sightings.
Each evening also
included a visit with Moses at his tent. Moses was dressed
appropriately in a period costume. Each visit with Moses told of the
journey and the reactions of the Israelites. The first evening
included following Moses through the parted Red Sea. (This made a
real impression with the children because they repeatedly asked to go
through the Red Sea as the tribe traveled together from tent to
tent.) The second visit with Moses concerned “complaining people”
and how God rained down quail and provided “manna.” Each tribe
member roasted a “Peep” quail over the camp fire and gathered
cereal “manna” off the ground. After this visit I did feel the
need to bring along Egermeier's BIBLE STORY BOOK to help with a few
Biblical pictures for clarification. The third visit with Moses
concerned the battle with the Amalekites. The children took turns
like Aaron and Hud to help Moses hold up his rod so that the
Israelites could defeat the Amalekites. The fourth visit was about
Passover and the visit from the Death Angel. The children smeared
“blood” paint on their tent and ate unleavened “pita-style”
bread. The last visit with Moses covered the meaning of each of the
Ten Commandments with a reciting and discussion.
My biggest obstacle to
overcome in order to help the children have a joyful experience was
my lack of familiarity with the “current” music used for worship
and praise. Each evening opened with musical celebration and closed
with musical celebration. The new “praise” music genre is very
unfamiliar to me. The first night I felt very stiff and uncomfortable
with the new style of music, but by the last evening I was moving to
the beat of the new rhythms and much more comfortable with the new
style. I eventually felt comfortable participating in a “hora”
circle dance and singing along with SHALOM at the end of each
evening.
It felt strange with
Bible School being in the evenings. I understand the need for
adjusting the timetable in order to get the needed volunteers from
among working parents. I also understand the idea of providing supper
so that families could come straight to the church from work and day
care. However, I still believe that the children are more receptive
and attentive in the mornings. I felt that the children were a little
rushed in their visits with Moses because of the tight, short time
frame (5:30pm to 8:00pm). Supper time was included in that short time
frame which also caused the children to be rushed while working on
their crafts in the Market Place.
Overall Bible School was
a nice, new experience to add to my “retirement” repertoire. I
would definitely volunteer again next year!
