Through Bible-based sessions for ages three through adult, Gather ’Round offers learners the opportunity to know and love God. Learners respond to Bible stories with drama, music, arts and crafts, games, reflection, and worship. All ages study the same Bible story each week.
Our Sunday school time is only 45 minutes, so I don’t have time to cover everything in the teacher’s guide. Often I don’t even get to the Responding activities, which would be fun to do. Do you have any counsel for how I can best use my time?
Signed: Crunched for Time
Dear Crunched:
The Responding time is definitely supposed to be fun, but it’s more than that as well. This is a way to help children creatively integrate the Bible story with their own spiritual lives. Providing multiple options allows children to internalize the Bible story through a learning mode that works for each one of them.
Try shortening your gathering time. You might also integrate the reflecting and connecting activities to leave a little more time for response options. Watch the clock and stick to a schedule something like this: Gathering (10 minutes); Bible story, Reflect, and Connect (15 minutes); Responding (15 minutes); Sending (5 minutes).