Tuesday, August 26, 2014

New Version of Bible School

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!

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