This will vary depending on your style and familiarity with the curriculum. In general, however, the time may range from one and a half to two hours per lesson.

To simply read and understand the lesson and get visuals together, you could probably prepare in 30 minutes to an hour, but if you want to teach from an overflowing heart, spending time throughout the week is really beneficial.

One teacher outlined her lesson preparation in this way:

• A week before the lesson, I read through the entire lesson and workbook to get the big picture of what is going on in the lesson. (15 minutes)
• After reading through the lesson, I spend some time looking up the Scripture texts. I meditate on what this lesson is saying about God and what it means for me personally. Throughout the week, I think about the lesson and the texts, and try to internalize how it applies to my life at this time. In order to be authentic in my teaching, I want to be spiritually prepared by really understanding and loving the truth that is presented. (30-45 minutes looking up texts, etc.)
• Several days before the lesson I get all the visuals together and plan how I am going to incorporate the visuals in the teaching. I sometimes teach the lesson quickly to my spouse, using the visuals as I would in teaching the children. (30-45 minutes)

Classroom time could run between 45 and 90 minutes. There are two essential components of a class time:

1. Teaching of the Word: Lesson presentation
2. Application: What did I hear? What do I understand about what I have heard? How do I hear God calling me to respond?

All other activities should be structured to support these two components. Other activities may include transition time, worship, prayer, Scripture memorization, and other optional activities.

This varies from level to level.

• Preschool: Coloring Books are useful for reviewing the story, checking the child's understanding, and facilitating application.
• Early Elementary: Workbooks are helpful for reviewing, applying, and leading the child in further understanding the lesson. They also serve as a tool to occupy other children while you have a conversation with an individual child.
• Upper Elementary: During the teaching time of How Majestic is Your Name and My Purpose Will Stand, the students should take notes on the first page to record the basic content. After the lesson, the small group leader may briefly review the note-taking page. After the application discussion, students may complete the second page. These pages are designed to further their understanding of the content, provoke further thought and discussion, and apply the concepts. They also serve as a tool to occupy the students while you have a conversation with an individual.
• Youth: Student journals have in-class and at-home portions. The In-Class portion reinforces the truths taught and facilitates application. The At-Home portion helps the students apply what they've learned to their daily life and develop spiritual disciplines. This tool provides a direct connection between church and home.

• Sunday School curricula have 40 lessons. This system follows the pattern of the typical United States school year: September to May.
• Preschool curricula have 64 lessons (Old Testament) or 52 lessons (New Testament). Together they cover two calendar years or three 40-week school years. Churches may choose to combine or omit some lessons to complete the curricula in two 40-week school years.
• Nursery lessons are intended to be repeated to cover 0-3+ years of age.
• Midweek curricula have 26-28 lessons, patterned after a typical September to May U.S. school year with breaks for holidays. Some churches with year-round Sunday school teach Midweek curricula over two summers to fill in the time not covered by the 40-lesson Sunday School curricula.
• Intergenerational curricula have 13 lessons. They can be used in the summer or as a Midweek curriculum by spreading one lesson over two weeks, or by using both 13-week curricula to cover a 26-week period.
• Backyard Bible Club/Vacation Bible School curricula contain five lessons and are typically used for one week.

Our Preschool studies include enough lessons for a full year.

You may supplement the 40 week Sunday school studies with 13 week options:

• One of our multi-age titles: Lord, Teach Us To Pray or The Righteous Shall Live By Faith
• The Fighter Verses quarterly studies (Set 1 or Set 2)
• One of our midweek titles (to use over 2 summers)

If you have questions about youth options, please contact us.

The Midweek Bible curricula include more activities and games. They are also of a more practical nature, dealing with specific discipling issues, such as how to use the Bible and how to fight the fight of faith. Midweek Bible curricula can also be used as a club program with buttons that can be earned.

The curricula can be adapted for use in a home or Christian school by studying each lesson more in-depth. The lesson could be taught during one class period. Another class period could be devoted to discussion of the lesson and personal application. The following class period(s) could be focused on some of the following activities:

• Memory Verse: Learning the verse and reviewing previous verses.
• Journaling: Students could be assigned to write about a topic related to the lesson. Journal assignments could focus more on personal application or response to the lesson.
• Parent Resource Pages: As a parent-child activity in class.
• Sharing Time: Students could be given the opportunity to share with the class how they have applied what they have learned.
• Prayer Time: An intense time of prayer related to the topic of study.
• Review: Previous lessons and concepts can be reviewed.
• Test: Quiz students on the material covered to date.
• Ministry: Students could be encouraged to use what has been learned in ministry to others (e.g., write a note of encouragement to someone using one of the names of God).

Currently, we do not have a specific missions curriculum, though many curricula include lessons with a missions focus. You can also find some suggestions for helping your children become world Christians in Noël Piper’s article, Home Grown World Christians.

• Teacher's Guides/Leader's Editions (printed or electronic) are to be purchased for each Teacher and Small Group Leader. Individual lessons for a one-time substitute teacher are included with the Classroom and Teacher Kits.
• Curriculum Resources (supporting resources that are included with the Classroom/Teacher kit, either on the DVD or downloaded if electronic) may be copied and shared among the leaders in your classroom.
• Student Books (printed or electronic) are to be purchased for each student. However, copies of individual pages may be made for visitors.
• Growing in Faith Together (GIFT) and Parent Resource Pages included with Classroom/Teacher Kits can be duplicated and distributed to parents. Or, if you prefer, bound copies can be purchased for each student for many of our Sunday School curricula.

First, the ESV is a literal and readable translation, which means that it maintains the original wording as closely as possible, while still being readable for those living in today’s culture. As an “essentially literal” translation, the ESV is based closely on the Greek and Hebrew texts of Scripture. Other Bible translations in the “essentially literal” category include the New American Standard Version, the New King James Version, and the King James Version (which, for centuries, was considered the standard Bible version of the English-speaking world).

Second, the ESV is a translation that can be used from childhood into adulthood. This eliminates the need for a child to switch from the version he memorized and read as a child to a new version as an adult.

For elementary-age classroom use, we recommend the ESV Children's Bible which uses the same ESV version as the Truth78 curriculum. For personal study or home use, we highly recommend the 2008 ESV Children’s Bible edition which features study resources written by Truth78 authors Sally Michael and Jill Nelson.

Finally, the ESV allows a church to use a single version for both older and younger people so the entire church can read and memorize the same version of Scripture together. The version an adult can enjoy using because it is literal is the same version a child can appreciate for its readability. Parents, teachers, students, and children can use the same version of Scripture at church.

Yes, some of our teaching and student materials from the original version of our revised curriculum are available in electronic format only for special order. Please contact Customer Care for more information and to place an order.

Please contact Customer Care to talk through curriculum titles that are available in both Spanish and English.

Please see our Languages page for resources already translated into other languages. If you are interested in translating other resources for use in your ministry or in joining our translation team, please contact Customer Care to request permission to translate and receive more information about the process.

Electronic resources are a great option for many of our customers. Learn about how to use our electronic resources and our policies regarding electronic licenses.

Don't see your question here? Check our Customer Care page. Or contact our Customer Care Team at 877.400.1414 or [email protected]