How to offer bible lessons

I’ve been so intimidated at the prospect of teaching my children about Jesus and the Bible. There are so many facets to consider: age-relevant methods, following their interests, not overloading them with instruction, choosing a topic, where to learn together, etc. One of the resources I’ve borrowed from a friend (thanks Natalie!) called Godly Play: An Imaginative Approach to Religious Education by Jerome Berryman has been a useful tool to organize my priorities and envision how a lesson might play out. It’s especially helpful since it’s heavily inspired by Montessori; the same teaching philosophy with which my boy’s are already comfortable. The general structure of a lesson attempts to follow both the creative process and liturgical practice.

A typical lesson might flow like this:

Gathering / Preparation (10m)

A lesson begins with my own preparation. I enter the room and prepare the space for the lesson. I ensure we have the materials for today’s lesson, then I engage in a time of centering and listening to prepare myself for wonder.

Greeting (5m)

I welcome Graham and Royal into the room, letting them know I’m happy to share today’s lesson with them. Entering the lesson space is a threshold moment into a different kind of time and a different relationship. Marking the entrance in a special way helps facilitate this transition from relating to me as a parent to a fellow-wonderer. We sit down together in a circle on the floor.

Note: in an ideal scenario there are two facilitators: one to lead the lesson and the other as a doorkeeper and assistant. Both jobs are vital and it’s helpful to have them filled by different people, but I must use what I have.

Lesson (10m)

I present the materials for the day’s lesson to the boys. It’s important to go slowly and to foster wonder and curiosity as we encounter the materials for the first time. I use the materials to tell the day’s lesson; perhaps the story of the snake’s garden temptation, or maybe today it’s Jesus' baptism, taking care to slow down and appreciate each part of the lesson with them. It will be important for me to remember that the goal isn’t so much about absorbing a bunch of Bible stories, but about learning how to use religious language and symbols to make sense of their existential questions and experiences with God.

Royal, at five year’s old, has the capacity to engage with the facts of the lesson and imagine individual characters. He might be engaged with questions like, “how big do you think the snake is?”, but he isn’t concerned about the the reasons why and isn’t likely to draw correlations.

Graham, at seven year’s old, is beginning to ask the why questions. He may engage more with questions like, “why did the snake ask the woman about what God said?”

Note: if I utilize questions it will be to facilitate our sense of curiosity, not to give answers. I model wonder and enjoy the lesson with them.

Response (10m)

After the lesson, each boy is offered an opportunity to respond. They might choose to re-enact the day’s lesson or a previous lesson we’ve already covered. They might instead choose to have an artistic response such as drawing a picture.

Note: if they choose to re-enact a lesson it’s important that they don’t use the materials for some other purpose. We set apart these materials as special for the symbols they represent. Using them in creative play outside the lesson diffuses the power of the symbols and makes it harder to engage with them in future lessons. It seems that the ideal is to use unique materials for each lesson.

Feast (5m)

When we’ve gathered together in the circle after our response we share a snack together.

Goodbye (2m)

As the entry into the space is an important threshold moment, so too is the goodbye. We mark the end with a special goodbye ritual (which I haven’t figured out yet).