What in the World is Rotation Sunday School?

Kids: ask your parents to read this article about the new way we're going to do Sunday School at Greenfield Church for ages 5 through 5th grade.

Here's the Workshop Rotation Model in a nutshell: Teach major Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops: an Art workshop, Drama, Music, Games, A-V, Puppets, Storytelling, and any other educational media you can get your hands on. Teach the same Bible story in all of the workshops for 3 or 4 weeks rotating the kids to a different workshop each week. And here comes the extremely teacher friendly part: Keep the same teacher in each workshop for all five weeks -teaching the same lesson week after week (with some age appropriate adjustments) to each new class coming in.

The model allows teachers to get better at their lesson. By the second week of the rotation, the teacher is already improving the original lesson plan for the next class. No more "if I only would have...." in the parking lot after class. No more Saturday night planning. No more recruitment hassles because adults are happy to sign up for 3 - 4 week rotations. And because the teacher is assigned to teach in the creative mode they are comfortable with, the teaching and learning experience are enriched. No more lectures and no more overused worksheets, or fumbling popsicle stick Jesus' crafts.

There is no need to buy curriculum, instead educators are calling each other and saying "I'll trade you my Moses rotation for your Ruth, and do you have any good art projects for the Prodigal Son?" Churches are gleaning from each other. They're digging into their stockpiles of creative materials and hitting their resource centers,Because each workshop uses essentially the same lesson plan for 3-4 weeks in a row, every week isn't a mad rush of planning.

The name for our rotation Sunday School is "BIBLE BLAST: Bible Learning Adventure Stations". I can't wait to get started on September 1st. The kids will go downstairs after the children's time in worship to meet their teachers and find out which group they'll be in for the September unit called "Adam and Eve: Named and Claimed by God." Each age group (K/1, 2nd/3rd, and 4th/5th grades) will do on of the following rotations: art, cooking, and video.

There will be a family page with information about each rotation available on the check-in table. Our ALL STARS will each have a name tag to wear each week.

I encourage you to pray about serving as a teacher for one of our monthly rotations. All the materials and step-by-step instructions are provided.

Our preschoolers and tweens in 6th through 8th grades will have a traditional class setting with new material and team teachers.

I am always available to talk with you about our children's faith formation ministry. I can be reached most easily at church on Tues/Wed/Thurs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. or on my cell at 248.766.4622. My email is cindyblakely@gmail.com.