In Providence Kids, we believe that families should be in the Word on a regular basis. Parents often don't know where to start or how to engage their young children in spiritual matters. For that reason, we have decided to post a monthly memory verse calendar that includes our memory verse, weekly activities as well as what your child will be learning each Sunday.
Our hope is that you would use this to engage your children spiritually throughout the week, not just on Sundays. We pray that Sunday mornings becomes an extension of what happens in homes throughout the week.
Print these pages out, put them on the fridge or somewhere you will see it often. Enjoy!
Please take time to talk through each question with your child during the course of the Gideon unit.
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27
Why do you think your teachers chose this verse to go along with the story of Gideon?
Gideon was not an exceptionally brave or courageous man. In fact, all throughout his story, he doubts God, and over and over asks for proof that God will do what He has promised. When we look at Gideon, we can see that often times, He was foolish in his unbelief and weak in his faith. But God was so patient with Him! God used this weak and foolish man to defeat His enemies.
How can this verse encourage us?
Just like God used Gideon, an average man, to do great things, so too can He use us to accomplish great things for His Kingdom. Even as a child, God can use you to help, serve, encourage and bless others. God can also use you to help others understand the truth of His greatness!
How can this verse challenge us?
When we think we have everything figured out, or when we assume we know what God wants or what is best, we would do well to remember that when we think we are wise, foolish things may shame us. Or when we think we are strong and don’t need God’s help, He may send weak things to humble us and remind us that He is in control, not us.
How does this verse point us to Jesus?
When Jesus came into the world as a baby, people were expecting a King. Christ was the Messiah, the Savior sent to rescue the people, but many didn’t recognize Him as such because He was a humble, quiet, poor teacher. The very smart thought Him foolish and the very strong thought Him weak. And yet this same man was God the Son, who died on the cross to purchase forgiveness for sin.
Memory Verse Activities:
Put the verse to the tune of a favorite song.
Choose a picture to represent each word and illustrate the verse. Make your illustration into a placemat or book cover.
Write your memory verse on the bathroom mirror in erasable marker and read it each morning and evening as you get ready.
Create real-life scenarios where you can see this verse in action and act them out for the family.
These are available at the check-in desk, too! Please grab one on Sunday!
Preschool Take-home August 2009
This month we are learning all about Creation! We will be talking about God's wonderful act of creating the heavens and the earth, as well as how sin entered the world and touched everything with it’s sickness.
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens,
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.
Psalm 145:1-8
Creation
This unit is such a fun one to study. Creation is a part of our everyday life - it's all around us. Take some time to explore this with your family!
Talk about things you are grateful that God has created and, in turn, blessed you with!
How would life be different if God created us differently - what if we had our hands where our feet are? What if we didn't have ears? God is a perfect Creator… there's a reason we don't walk on our hands!
Go for a walk with your child. See how many things your child can point out that God has created. You can even talk about why some of these things exist i.e. trees to provide us oxygen, flowers to provide pollen for insects, etc. These things all provide a purpose but they are beautiful as well. What a wonderful and creative God we serve!
The Fall
The story of Creation and the Fall is such an important part of the story of humanity. It shows that left to our own devices, we will give into our desires, not God's... which in turn shows our desperate need for a Savior in Jesus Christ!
Ask questions about the story of Adam and Eve:
What is sin? Sin is when you disobey God, or do something that is against what God tells us to do.
How do we know what God wants us to do? Easy! Read the Bible! It is overflowing with stories of people who obey and disobey God. We can learn a great deal from the Bible.
Why did Adam & Eve think it was okay to eat from the tree that God told them not to? Adam and Eve fell into the common sin of trying to be bigger and stronger than God. They thought there way was better than God’s way. Their hearts were wrong to not love God most and that sin affected their relationship with God forever, and our relationship with Him too.
**For the 5s, K, 1st grade class - in addition to Creation, we are also learning about Abraham, Jacob and Joseph! Review with this age how God’s promise for a Rescuer passed from Abraham, down to Isaac, to Jacob (renamed Israel), to Joseph and down even to us, revealed through Christ!
I was meditating on Psalm 78 yesterday and the first thing I noticed as I began was that the title of the Psalm is Tell the Coming Generation. That immediately struck a chord so as I read I tried to answer the questions: What should we tell them? How should we do it? Why should we tell them?
This Psalm provides a great example of how to teach our children what God has done in the Scriptures and let those events reveal His character and love. I would encourage you to spend some time in Psalm 78 by yourself, and then with your children.
What should we tell them? We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. (verse 4)
How should we do it? I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. (verse 3) (the rest of the Psalm gives a great example of how to tell a story)
Why should we tell them? So that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his commandments. (verse 7)
May we shepherd our children with upright heart and guide them with a skillful hand (Psalm 78:72).
I've written before about the importance of singing with your children. I won't go into much detail again but I did want to expand on one thing. Scripture promises the following about itself:
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
With those promises in mind, I encourage you to sing Scripture over your children and even have it playing in the background as you go throughout your day. There are several groups that publish verses put to song. Because we have the promise that God's Word will not return empty, why wouldn't we want to let it go forth over our children on a regular basis? So grab some cds, turn the volume up, sing along and have faith that His Word will penetrate the hearts of our little ones.
If you haven’t read Charity’s idea on the church’s site for making placemats, I reposted it here. If you have, you will know that my idea for making a Biblically-based learning placemat came from her. That said, here’s what we’re trying around our house.
My son is just starting to memorize verses for the first time. He’s also in the early stages of learning how to read a little. The first verse we memorized is 1 John 4:14 “We have seen and testify that the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.” We then started learning John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Now he is mixing the two verse together into quite a mess. It usually sounds something like this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to be the Savior of the world.”
So I thought since he mostly knows the letters and the sounds those letters make, that I would write these verses down and make them into placemats. My goal is that as he is quoting the memorized verses he would look at each word on the placemat and see that the initial sound is the same as the one he is saying. Hopefully the written words will just guide him in the right direction. We’ll see how it works! (If your kids are readers, writing verses on placemats could be a good way for them to memorize new Scripture.)
In Providence Kids, we believe that families should be in the Word on a regular basis. Parents often don't know where to start or how to engage their young children in spiritual matters. For that reason, we have decided to post a monthly memory verse calendar that includes our memory verse, weekly activities as well as what your child will be learning each Sunday. 
