Here's the recommended supply list for my first Sunday School class:
- CD player
- Bible
- a long rope
- construction paper
- markers
- scissors
- Story Surprise Box
- puppet
- 2 chenille wires
- sheet of posterboard
- sheet of sandpaper
- several sheets of green construction paper
- glue and glue sticks
- bag of dried fruit
- tube sock
- markers
- animal stickers
- fabric
- small sticks and other natural materials
- Lesson 3 worksheet
- clay
- 2 resealable plastic bags per child
- newspapers
- 1 Oreo cookie
- 1 pudding or ice cream cup
- 1 plastic spoon per child
- 1 add'l. piece of colored construction paper per child
- age-appropriate picture books, magazines, and coloring books that can be torn apart
- pendant
I admit, I was pretty overwhelmed when I read this list the Friday before I was supposed to teach!
I had agreed to teach the kindergarten-level Sunday School class at the Episcopalian church we attend with the girls' grandparents. I'd rather that my daughters were learning the UU Sunday School curriculum (which includes units on different worship traditions and on human sexuality), but ultimately, family togetherness trumped fabulous curriculum.
Anyway, at first I was reluctant to teach Sunday School because I'm new to the church and don't know all the finer points of doctrine, and I'm not sure I'd agree with all the finer points of doctrine even if I knew them. It didn't take long to realize that I needed to do my part. The church helps by sharing the responsibility widely (I teach only once/month) and by purchasing a curriculum. "This curriculum has everything," the Sunday School leader assured me. "It's easy!"
Well, it does have great ideas for teaching five-year-olds. But the suggestions are a bit, um, complex.
Fortunately, my mother-in-law helped me figure out how to simplify the instructions, so I didn't need quite that many supplies. And today, during my fourth Sunday School class, we managed with just
- CD player and CD (already in the classroom)
- a tambourine (for making noise while kids try to talk to each other; the point: it's hard for us to hear each other sometimes, but God can always hear us; "Ask, and God will hear you")
- a child's Bible (for telling the story of Abraham and Sarah and Isaac; "God makes amazing things happen")
- Lesson 11 worksheet (for coloring a picture of something difficult, like riding a two-wheeled bike)
- crayons
- baby lotion (to remind us of Sarah's baby)
- ingredients for instant pudding (which we made by shaking the ingredients in a plastic container; amazing!)
- one sealed plastic container (big enough for pudding)
- one plastic cup and spoon per child
All that got us through a half hour; then it was time to learn Christmas carols. Whew! Next time, I'm also bringing wipes.
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