The Spiritual Basket.
It is substantial to have a few items that children can use, not only in Sunday School, but also at home to help know more about Jesus, and the concept of Christianity as a whole. For example, how do you answer to a child when they ask why we go to church? And after church on Sunday, then what?
Having a few minutes everyday where children can engage in reading and understanding the Bible is very important; be it after school, just before their evening meals or before they go to bed, it really doesn’t matter when. The important thing is that time is spent knowing a little bit more about the bible, Jesus and salvation everyday.
That said, the Spiritual Basket is simply a list of few things that can be used everyday to ensure this happens. I like to refer to this basket of things as a Hermeneutical Tool for children. It could be a basket, or a casket packed like a “cake”. (The basket or casket is just the bag that holds all the things needed in one place. Be as creative as you can with this, it doesn’t have to be just a basket, or a casket. Arranging the items needed in one corner could also work.)
Some of the items that could come in handy include:
Manilla Paper – Good for creative cut-outs, such as making a cross, or making the wordless notebook.
Sticky Notes – Great for writing out short bible verses. Allow the children to stick these on the walls in their creative space to enhance remembrance of these Bible Verses. They may also write out summary of the lessons they learn from their Bible Study Time.
Coloured Pens/ Crayons – These are for writing or colouring, depending on the activity that your child engages in. Children love colour!
A Notebook – Children from ages 7 and above can write. Ensure you have some good notebooks ready in your child’s spiritual basket.
Printouts – These could be cut-outs from the Bible. You can easily get printouts from Pinterest and create a board where you could stick all these printouts and hang this board up for your kids.
Masking Tape or Glue – You need either to stick the printouts/ cut-outs.
Scissors – You need scissors to cut up manilla paper, for example, while making a cross.
Children’s Bible – This is the most important item to have. It helps them understand the Bible before graduating to the actual Bible. A Children’s Bible can be bought from any bookstore near your home. (My personal recommendation is Text Book Centre. They have a variety of Kids Bibles and for a variety of ages too!)
Guides – These are printouts which can again, be easily sourced from Pinterest. They could be guides on topics about anything, for example, How To Pray, How to Read The Bible, just to mention a few.
Drawing or Colouring Book – There’s nothing a good coloring book won’t do for your 5-yr-old! Children love color, hence, readily warm up to any related activities. Be sure to have a good drawing book too, boys love them!
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