Jesus, What a Savior!

Clip art taken from www.childrendesiringgod.org

 Disclaimer: I was given, "Jesus, What a Savior!" Teacher's Guide (Electronic Version) for review.  I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own!

I was  recently given the opportunity to review: Jesus, What a Savior! (REVISED) from Children Desiring God Ministries.

"Jesus, What a Savior is a study for children on redemption. Children are sinners, and the consequences for their sin are eternal. This curriculum is designed to present the Gospel, not with "us" at the center of the story, but with the greatness and worth of God at the center. Throughout the lessons, an illustration using colored hearts shows what were created to do, the effects of sin on our hearts, and the absolute need for Christ to restore our hearts."

(taken directly from Children Desiring God Ministries web-site)

"Jesus, What a Savior!" consists of 40 lessons (to view the complete scope and sequence click HERE).  I love how the lessons build upon each other in a sequential way...God, Creation, Sin, Jesus! After going through this curriculum Children will understand the gospel!  They will recognize that they are a sinner and in need of the Savior, Jesus!  Along the way they will learn WHO Jesus is and at the conclusion learn that Jesus invites them to receive Him!

This curriculum was specifically designed to use in the church.  Children Desiring God Ministry has considered that families may want to use this in their home.  Therefore, they have included helpful hints such as ways to adapt the curriculum for home, the advantages of using the material in your home, and scheduling recommendations in the Teacher's Guide Appendix.  I found these suggestions helpful!

In our home we began by completing one lesson per week.  I would often extend the lesson by watching short video clips, discussing the lesson throughout the week, or even doing an additional craft or activity that related to the subject matter.  I used the curriculum as a guide for my weekly bible homeschooling lessons.  Below is a picture of us working through lesson eight, "God Punishes a Sinful World."  This specific lesson address the story of Noah pointing out that, "God is faithful to save sinners who trust in Him."  To extend this lesson we watched an animated Noah's Ark program on the ipad! 

As I began looking through the Teacher's Guide I thought it would be best to purchase the student workbook.  The workbook (shown in the picture above) includes two pages per lesson.  The first page contains the lesson number, main ideas, scripture, memory verse, and activity instructions.  The second page is the correlating activity page that the student completes.  Take a look at the student workbook example HERE (see page 26).

 

More quick thoughts below...

• Although this study is intended for the Kindergarten age level I feel it is good for ALL AGES!  Hearing the gospel and learning of Christ has no age limit or time frame!  This study can be easily used for the entire family AND be repeated!  I foresee my family going through this study again!  
• The curriculum can simply be used as a guide for the study of the bible/Christ.  Many times we like to have our children DO workbooks, journals, or activities.  Using this simply as a guide for reading scripture and discussing the main ideas is a wonderful simplified way to incorporate this into your family's routine, family devotions, or bible home school lessons.
• Purchasing the workbook is helpful.  As I mentioned above the student workbook made it easy for me to know the scriptures, main ideas, and suggested activities without having to look through a detailed Teacher's Guide purposed for church leaders.  The student workbook would be sufficient to use for home.  (FYI: Some pages in the workbook require PDF printables from the resources DVD which is a separate purchase.  So far I have been able to simply modify those pages since I did not purchase this resource.)
• "There's an App for that!" Growing in Faith Together (GIFT) App was designed for parents to be aware of what their child is learning in church.  GIFT pages for "Jesus, What a Savior!"  are available for your iphone and ipad!  Although I have not reviewed or purchased this resource I thought you might be interested in learning more HERE!
• THERE IS MORE!  Once you complete this study, Children Desiring God Ministries has an entire scope and sequence with more studies to work through!  Check it out HERE!  

I strongly encourage ALL parents to teach the bible at home, not just homeschooling families.  Children Desiring God Ministries supports this as well and gives us a biblical reference in Deuteronomy 6:5-9 for reflection in this area.  In the curriculum they state, "The primary responsibility and privilege of nurturing the faith of youth rests on parents." What a joy it is to act upon this God given responsibility and teach my children Christ!  I feel confident in partnering with Children Desiring God Ministries and their resources to help me teach and train my children in the Lord.

Children Desiring God Ministries Mission Statement

"Our mission is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things so that the next generation may know and cherish Jesus Christ as the only One who saves and satisfies the desires of the heart.

We want millions in every generation to set their hope in God. To that end, we aim to fuel spiritual desire by producing God-centered, Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting resources and by equipping parents and churches working in partnership to instruct the mind, engage the heart, and nurture the faith of the next generations."

Thank you Children Desiring God Ministries for allowing me the time to review this curriculum and share my thoughts with my readers! 

Thank you to my readers for taking the time to visit "My Teacher's Name is Mama" and consider, "Jesus, What a Savior!" for your family!  God Bless you!!!