The Bible
in Color Learning System has been developed over many
years and many trial runs. It has been refined over the past 40+
years of teaching children. Also, the system has grown to what it is
by speaking with hundreds of teachers in many denominational and
non-denominational churches. There is still plenty of room for
refining, for adjusting to your mission, and for YOUR teaching ideas
– teachers, parents and children, please give me your feedback!
There are 3 parts to the
Bible in Color Learning System:
- The Bible in Color: One for each student in the class
- Colored Bible Boxes: Can be purchased or hand made by the students
- A Colored Filing System (Or Binder): This becomes the property of the church or the school, and is easily accessible to teachers.
Let's look at each of those parts...
The Bible
This system sorts the books of the Bible into 10 Colored Sections; 5 colors in the Old Testament and 5 in the New Testament.
It
is best for the leader and every student or group member to have
identical, paperback Bibles. In a classroom setting it is best if
every student leaves the Bible in the classroom. Because all the
students have the same Bibles, we can use page numbers and “helps”
that will make every
student feel comfortable.
Readers/non-readers
all gain confidence in handling their own Bible (this is especially
exciting for people who are new to the Word OR new to our country and
language). Our goal is to help every student feel less awkward as
they are learning. Every
student has their name on their Bible, every visitor should have
their own named Bible on the second visit. When a student moves away or moves up to another classroom
this Bible goes with them.
Every
student also has access to pencil crayons to color verses or outline
stories in their Bible. Colors and stickers are so much fun for
them! When using the curriculum, we print our own stickers to go
with the lessons. We shrink stickers so that they fit in the margins
– students remember months and years back to when they heard a
lesson and got a sticker to place in the corresponding Bible spot.
The
Bible in Color, can be the version of your choice. I usually use the
NIV paperback Bibles from the Canadian Bible Society. We buy them in
bulk and color them ourselves with felt pens – sometimes volunteers
help, sometimes the teachers color one section at a time, sometimes
the entire Bible is completely colored before the student receives it
– it really is up to you how it is done.
I
know that people are using Bibles online or eBibles, but here’s the
thing .. the Book is still incredible to handle and to learn in hard
copy.
You
can order your Bibles from me in color or plain. (see price page) OR I can send you a
sample and you can order your own versions or languages and then
color your own. I have some simple tips if you decide to do it that
way.
Colored Bible Boxes
The
Boxes correspond with the colored divisions in the student’s Bibles
and are especially designed as a teaching tool for children. It is a
good idea to have at least one set of Bible Boxes to start with.
Eventually every classroom should have a set.
The
Boxes are in the same colors as the division colors in the Bible, so
there are 10 colored boxes in total. The students put reminders and
little treasures in the boxes to help them remember which stories or
truths are found in each section of the Bible. They are an excellent
tool for review.
For
example:
Teacher: “In this Red Bible Box, I found a tree, ... tell me class, why is there a tree in this box?” Answer – Genesis is a red book and Genesis is where we learn about God creating trees.
Teacher: “Do any of you have tree stickers in your Bibles? Could you show me? Answer – Yes, we can show you the spot where we learned about creation. (Even preschoolers can find their stickers after months or years of not opening to that page.)
The
Boxes I use are available at some craft stores. Some teachers like
to paint the Bible boxes with their students. Or I would be happy to supply painted boxes or plain boxes to you (see the price page).
The Bible in Color Filing System (Or Binder)
When
we collect and file carefully, we “grow respect” for teaching
that has taken place over the years. This
is so important. Many churches or schools have tons of paper or
craft supplies available to teachers. But often there are very few
lesson plans or a history of plans available ... and almost never is
there a strategic plan for learning. I can say this because I am
guilty as charged! People have been teaching Sunday School, and
had brilliant ideas that students are excited about ... but have
only word of mouth and no records of the ideas filed for
future teachers! We have a rich history of teaching ... so let’s
commit ourselves to an even richer future.
The
Bible
in Color
Filing System includes:
- Colored labels on each file or binder section (red labels for the 5 books of Moses)
- A hanging file or binder section for each book of the Bible
- 5 files in each hanging folder or section – all labelled in colors
- One for Lesson Plans & Memory Work (ANY curriculum)
- one for Crafts & Activities,
- one for Games and Word Puzzles,
- one for Coloring pages and Dot-to-Dot pages
- one for age appropriate ideas – like “teen ideas” or “Preschool ideas”
I have been amazed at how
our files have grown. Once the system is in place, it seems that the
files just grow – it becomes an idea bank for tried and true
teaching resources!
Teachers and leaders
should always have access to the filing system. A teacher’s binder
is easy to keep updated and in view in each classroom. This is an
excellent resource for a teacher who has to “fill in” at the last
minute, they can see what has been taught recently and what is
planned for their class for that day. (We update our teacher’s
binder once a month with lesson plans and a calendar with teaching
schedule and lesson numbers on the calendar).
I would be happy to set
this system up for you, or send you labels to set up your own.
NOTE: This system should be available to all the teachers as a hard copy and as an electronic copy. I use both. It may take years to “make it your own”, ... but to have teaching aids, prototypes, samples available to all teachers is just incredible.
NOTE: This system should be available to all the teachers as a hard copy and as an electronic copy. I use both. It may take years to “make it your own”, ... but to have teaching aids, prototypes, samples available to all teachers is just incredible.
