The idea for God's Big Words Devotions started several years ago when I (Tricia) was sitting in church, listening to a sermon on encouragement. My class at the time was in need of some direction in this area, so I did a search for picture books dealing with encouragement and found some Bible verses that also pertained to the topic. Devotions in my classroom for the next week involved reading the Bible verses, sharing and discussing a picture book about encouragement, and praying that God would help us use encouraging words in our classroom. It went so well that I decided to come up with other important words that could help us become more like Jesus. Over the years, I've added many more words and God's Big Words Devotions has become a first grade thing at our school. We now have enough words and books to fill the entire school year! It is one of my favorite parts of the day and the lessons we learn from these often-wayward book characters come up over and over throughout the year.
My favorite way to start the school year is with the word IMITATE. There are only three books that go along with this word (so far), but they are a great springboard into discussing who we should be following in our lives as Christians. After that, I love to talk about how we are all made in God's IMAGE. God made humans to be the only creatures who can grow up to be more like Him. We all have that in common. However, God made each one of us unique, with our own sets of talents and challenges. When others are different from us, we still need to treat them with kindness and respect because they are created in God's image. It's also important that we are happy with who God made us to be--He made us and loves us just the way we are! There are so many IMAGE books on the list and I spend a lot of time on this one because it is so foundational to our year together.
Once we've covered IMITATE and IMAGE, the sky is the limit! If my class can't keep their hands to themselves, I might do SELF-CONTROL next. If I notice that kids are fibbing about things, I'll pull out the TRUTH books next. And if I hear students using unkind words with each other, the TALK books will be next in the line-up. The devotions can be tailored to what your class needs as the year goes on.
Once we have finished a word, I like to have the students reflect in writing and pictures about the word we've been learning about. We do this in a faith journal where we also reflect on our school chapels. It is incredible to see how the students grow in their understanding of how to be more like Jesus throughout the year. It is also a wonderful journal to share with parents at conferences so they can see the progress, too.
If you click on the button below, it will take you to a list of words, Bible verses, books, and sometimes songs and videos. Feel free to use, change, or add to what's there and make it your own for your own classroom! It's a work in progress for us, too!
How do you do it?
1. Choose a word for study
2. Share/read together the Bible verse each day
3. Read the book
4. Discuss how it fits with the word and what it means for Christians
5. Pray
My favorite way to start the school year is with the word IMITATE. There are only three books that go along with this word (so far), but they are a great springboard into discussing who we should be following in our lives as Christians. After that, I love to talk about how we are all made in God's IMAGE. God made humans to be the only creatures who can grow up to be more like Him. We all have that in common. However, God made each one of us unique, with our own sets of talents and challenges. When others are different from us, we still need to treat them with kindness and respect because they are created in God's image. It's also important that we are happy with who God made us to be--He made us and loves us just the way we are! There are so many IMAGE books on the list and I spend a lot of time on this one because it is so foundational to our year together.
Once we've covered IMITATE and IMAGE, the sky is the limit! If my class can't keep their hands to themselves, I might do SELF-CONTROL next. If I notice that kids are fibbing about things, I'll pull out the TRUTH books next. And if I hear students using unkind words with each other, the TALK books will be next in the line-up. The devotions can be tailored to what your class needs as the year goes on.
Once we have finished a word, I like to have the students reflect in writing and pictures about the word we've been learning about. We do this in a faith journal where we also reflect on our school chapels. It is incredible to see how the students grow in their understanding of how to be more like Jesus throughout the year. It is also a wonderful journal to share with parents at conferences so they can see the progress, too.
If you click on the button below, it will take you to a list of words, Bible verses, books, and sometimes songs and videos. Feel free to use, change, or add to what's there and make it your own for your own classroom! It's a work in progress for us, too!
How do you do it?
1. Choose a word for study
2. Share/read together the Bible verse each day
3. Read the book
4. Discuss how it fits with the word and what it means for Christians
5. Pray