Intro - 1 Year Beginner Program

Beverley's 1 year beginners program

There are now two options for the 1 year program:

Option 1: Green Level

A lesson puzzle book to be handed out every two or three weeks; suitable for babies through to 3 year olds. Each puzzle book contains a Bible memory verse, Bible story, and age appropriate puzzles and colouring pictures to be done by the child over a 2 or 3 week period. Each quarter is divided into six lessons - five of the lessons run for two weeks and one runs for three weeks.

Option 2: Purple Level

A lesson puzzle book to be handed out every week; suitable for babies through to 3 year olds. Each puzzle book contains a Bible memory verse, Bible story, and age appropriate puzzles and colouring pictures. The purple level includes what is in the green level, with a few extra stories per quarter and a new Bible verse every week. It would be possible to run the green and purple levels simultaneously in a large Sabbath School.

Craft:
Lesson Helps:
The Weekly Program:
The Theme Program:

Craft:

Every quarter I make a craft book for each child by covering a small excercise book with coloured paper. (In my case I take scrap A3 paper and using poster paints to paint the blank side; I use a different colour each quarter.) I paste a picture of the child on the front so that they can identify their own book.

The first page I use as a title page in which I have the Quarter, "Memory Verse" and "Craft Book" pasted in different coloured shapes. The next page has the first memory verse for that quarter pasted in, and then when the child has finished his craft each week it is pasted into his book. As we start each new lesson I also add the new memory verse to the craft book. If someone is away I will paste in their craft for that week.
I paste an A5 envelope onto the back page; into that envelope I put any stickers or other pieces needed for the missed crafts. I also paste a sheet which lists all the crafts and their instruction so the parents may help the child complete the crafts later.
You will notice that the crafts are fairly simple. This is done purposely so that the child can do it mostly by themselves rather than watching their parents do it for them.

Lesson Helps:

The lessons and helps are sorted according to their quarter, lesson number and week. ie. Q1 L3 Wk2 is quarter 1, lesson 3 and week 2 of the lesson.

The MV file is the memory verse to be pasted in the craft book; there are two to a page, cut in half and use in two craft books.
The Mem Verse file is the memory verse printed in large print on an A4 sheet ready to place on the wall in your Sabbath School room. I print out all six at the beginning of each quarter and place them in a plastic protector sheet which I thumb tack to the felt board on the wall of my Sabbath School room; as each lesson changes I take out the finished verse and place at the back of the stack.

The Weekly Program:

I start my Beginners Sabbath School with some preliminary songs which stay the same all year. A Sample program would be:-

Welcome song
Offering song
Prayer preparation song
Prayer
Birthday song and birthday - if any
Welcome visitors song – if any present
Tiptoe song while moving to story mat for lesson story
Lesson story
Craft time at tables / quiet toys for babies / 15-20min Bible study for parents
Back to chairs for theme program – which changes each quarter
Closing song – stays the same all year

I use the same preliminary songs all year so that the children come to recognise that when a certain song is played and sung it is time for that particular activity. The theme program changes each quarter although I may run it longer or for less time depending on the interest of the children.
Time allowance is as follows: Items 1 to 7 take approximately 10 mins. If you have a birthday and visitors it may take 12-15 minutes. The lesson story takes approximately 3 mins; after which we say the memory verse with each child, encouraging the older child to repeat it after the teacher, and each child puts a sticker on their attendance sheet which hangs on the wall with the child's picture underneath. If the parents want to, they can have a short Bible study while the older children do their craft and the younger children play with quite toys; finish the Bible study and craft to allow 20 minutes for the theme.
Note that the program is arranged so that the lesson is before the theme. The younger child is more inclined to sit still early in the Sabbath School before they get tired.

The Theme Program:

The theme programs include songs and actions for both the teacher and children based on the theme topic. For information about preparing to run a theme see the introduction to themes page.

Quarter	Suggested Theme Programs
Q1 - Creation, sin, Noah, Joseph, Moses, Samuel.	Creation Sabbath Jesus wants me to be...
Q2 - David, Elijah, Naaman, Joash, Jonah, Daniel.	Jesus wants me to be... Jesus loves me Angels care for me
Q3 - Baby Jesus, boy Jesus, Jesus and the storm, Jairus' daughter, feeding the 5000, the 10 leppers.	Angels care for me Jesus loves me Baby Jesus Boy Jesus
Q4 - Zachaeus, cleansing the temple, Jesus death and resurection, Dorcas, Peter escapes from prison, the second coming and heaven.	Angels care for me Heaven Sabbath