Children and Families

Imagine a Sunday school classroom where children examine Van Gogh’s Starry Night and paint their own version while discussing God’s promise to Abram when God said, “Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.” (Genesis 15:5, Good News) And can you imagine visiting the church kitchen for Sunday School class to find some children assembling a fruit salad while others are frying tortillas? They tell you they are making the kinds of food that might have been served when Abraham held a feast when Isaac was weaned (Genesis 21:8).

In a rotational setting, the same Bible story or theme is taught for several weeks. Each week, the children rotate to a different station. The story remains the same, but children encounter it in different ways in each station. Stations include: cooking, art, music & movement, science, games, storytelling, computers and video. A typical Sunday begins with all children meeting in the Chapel for an opening prayer and a brief activity or discussion to introduce the day's lesson. Then, children go with their age-level class to one of the stations for a Bible story coupled with hands-on projects and activities.

After the last week of rotations, all of the children come together and invite the congregation to join them in working on a mission project that further reinforces the lesson, and helps the children learn to apply the Bible lesson to their everyday lives.

Repetition is an important part of the rotation approach. The more different ways children explore a story or concept, the more it is reinforced in their memories. The variety of experiences keeps interest high throughout the unit. Teachers teach the same lesson, with age-level adjustments, for the length of the rotation. Rotational learning is exciting for students and teachers alike, as teachers teach to their strengths and students experience Bible stories in the ways they learn best.