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An older elementary boy smirking at his children's ministry leader.
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The 4 Must-Haves When Writing Kidmin Curriculum

We asked the curriculum writing pros over at Group Publishing what the keys are to writing outstanding kidmin lessons. Here’s what they said are four things critical aspects of writing curriculum. 

1. Biblical Truth

First and foremost, writing curriculum for children’s ministry is at its essence being a steward of the Word of God. And that’s not to be taken lightly. We must “rightly handle” the Word of God. It’s critical to understand the context and meaning of the Scripture that we’re trying to teach children. This requires diligence in studying the biblical text.

2. Age Appropriateness

Once we understand the truth of the Scripture, we ask how this applies to the kids that we’re writing for. All of God’s Word applies to all of us—but indifferent ways at different points in our lives. If the text we’re teaching is about glorifying God in all we do, older kids may apply that to homework while preschoolers may apply it to cleaning their rooms. This is where we ask the “so what?” question for kids. Also, we need to ensure that whatever learning activities we create, the questions we ask, the words we use are age appropriate so kids can truly understand what God wants them to learn.

3. REAL Learning

We believe that the most effective way for kids to learn is when the lesson is Relational, Experiential, Applicable, and Lifelong. (You can learn more about REAL Learning here.) Using REAL learning in writing curriculum makes every lesson engaging for kids and ensures that the learning will stick. We create lessons that lead to aha moments of discovery for kids. We eschew closed-ended, recall questions in favor of thought-provoking questions that lead to rich conversation.

4. Ease of Preparation

The last thing that we’re concerned about when we’re writing curriculum is that it’s easy for the teacher. We know that volunteers are busy and don’t have time to collect hard-to-find supplies so we keep the supplies simple. This may sound like we’re not being that creative. On the contrary, it takes a lot more creative to work within the constraints of fewer supplies than to waste creativity on a clever prop.

Want more articles for children’s ministry leaders? Check these out.

3 thoughts on “The 4 Must-Haves When Writing Kidmin Curriculum

  1. I love to take the "adult teachings" and make them reachable for the children. I think sometimes we assume some Christian teaching is too big for them. But with the right illustration and Biblical examples it can be achieved.
    One example I found, was a three leaf clover craft used to explain the Trinity. They are three but still one. How great is that?

  2. june valerie phiri

    ive recently been involved in our sunday school as coordinator and part of my duty is to prepare lessons for all the class from preschool to the teens its a big challenge for me l need help june

  3. The problem with the three leaf clover analogy is that each leaf of the clover does not, in and of itself, comprise a whole clover.

    To make the analogy work, each person of the trinity would have to be "part of" God. I think you see the problem.

    The analogy of the three leaf clover does not point to a biblical understanding of trinity. Some modern Christians have applied the label "partialism" to this type of heresy.

    During the Council of Nicea, the orthodox doctrines regarding the ideas expressed in "partialism" were clarified.

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