Bible Excursion is what we call our Pre-K to 6th grade Sunday School.  We have been using Groups LIO since we opened our doors in September of 2006.  Our idea of Bible Excursion is that the children are going on an excursion each week to a different location in the Bible to learn God's word.  We have a dark blue sheet draped on a dowel rod between two poles to look like the night sky.  We then lay out green outdoor carpeting on the floor, set up a tent, fan blown fake fire with firewood and rock fire ring, and a camp chair.  The children come in and sit on the "grass" at the "camp site" for our 25 mins of large group time and get the main Bible story and we show them on a map and globe where they are "camping".  They then break up into "Pathfinders" (Pre-K & K), "Scouts" (1st & 2nd), and "Trailblazers" (3rd - 6th) for 25 mins of their level study and activities.  We then come back to the "camp site" for closing prayer concerns, joys and pick-up.

LIO has been perfect for this due to we are all in one very large room and have no where else that we can go.  We have been considering using Grapple for our 4th-6th graders though because we had no 6th graders last year and the few 5th graders our our own kids.  Their friends have not been interested in coming.

My delimenia is that LIO is no longer in production and we have used all of the 12 available units.  I can't reuse them on our kids except for the Pre-K kids that will be moving up this fall.  I am looking for a curriculum that will fit our needs.  It doesn't have to be Group (sorry about that), but it does need to fit this type of set up.  I've glanced at Hands On Bible, FaithWeavers, Live BIG and Bible Blitz thus far.  Has anyone used a Large group/Small group format that might help me.  I need to make the change by Sept 1.

Thanks so much.

Jo Bowie - Arkansas

Children's Ministries Director

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Let's see if I understand your situation. You have about 50 minutes with your Pre-K - 6th grade (or possibly 3rd/4th grade) kids. And you have one large room to meet in, whether it is for your large group time or your small group time. You also need to be able to set up and take down your classrooms each week. Are you happy with the amount of set up (blue curtain, green 'grass,' tent), or are you looking for more or less? So... 50 minutes, large room, and some mixed ages of kids possible. Sound like what you described?

I do read that you're looking to help your kids learn from God's Word. Would you say that is your goal? Or is there more to it (learn from God's Word in an age-appropriate way, and then practice living out their faith, for example). I'd like to make sure we get that down first. I think we can help in the large-group/small-group setting (and I know you and Karen Huggins are connecting, too), but want to take a step back, too, to look at what's most important.

One thought: a program that allows you to have all your students exploring the same Bible story, with age-appropriate activities, is the FaithWeaver family of resources. There is more than enough material for your 50 minutes of time. I'd suggest you start with something like the FREE children's message for each week (you can check it out at www.FaithWeaver.com under "Teacher Tips." If you'd like, you can add songs and praise, either from the Sing-Along Songs DVD (Volume 7) (http://store.grouppublishing.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=329966&section=16266) or the Songs From FaithWeaver CD (http://store.grouppublishing.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=334968&section=16266). If you want to spend more time together in a large group, you can also use parts of KidsOwn Worship (designed in a large-group/small-group/large-group closing format with multi-age activities) and/or FaithWeaver Friends (large-group opening, multi-age small-group "Circles of Friends" rotate to a couple of different 'Discovery Centers' to reinforce the Bible Point (up to 5 centers, but in 50 minutes you won't have time for them all), and then small-group journaling (writing/drawing) and brief closing.

After your opening, you can move into small groups using the FaithWeaver Bible Curriculum to explore and apply the weekly Bible Point. You can also use the free ideas in the Teacher Tips section at www.FaithWeaver.com for additional ideas here, too.

Group's Bible Blitz would be another option for you with your time and setting. It is intended for elementary learners, though, as the activities all come from the Hands-On Bible. If you keep multi-age groups, though, you may want to try it with your older kids reading the activity for the younger kids, and kids working together. Know, though, that this Bible is geared towards readers. The goal of Bible Blitz is getting kids into the Bible, and the Bible into kids. It can be done in a large-group/small-group format as well.

These are a couple of ideas to get you started. Let me know if I can help you with other ideas (dbernard@group.com). We'd be happy to get you samples to look at (or you can download them). And all of Group's curriculum resources come with the Group 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. And in the US, you can also call our team here at 1-800-447-1070.

God bless you and your ministry.

Deb Bernard, Curriculum Senior Marketing Manager

Deb Bernard

Curriculum Senior Marketing Manager

Children's Ministries Director

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Another curriculum you may try is DiscipleLand (www.discipleland.com). We use their Core curriculum for our midweek cl, but they also offer large/small group formats. What I like about this curriculum is that its not dated like Hands-on or Faithweaver (again, sorry Group!). The lessons in the Core curriculum repeat every two years so you also save on money if you keep the books and recources. Another sire to check out if your trying to save money is echurchdepot.com. They offer curriculum like discipleland for 15% off.

I hope this helps!!

Pastor Emily