New Hope Insider

What are our kids learning in Sabbath school?
All of the classes, except for Baby and Me and Toddler, are using the Faithweaver Curriculum through Group Publishing. It presents an overview of the Bible every three years, and is coordinated so all age groups are hearing the same story each week. To help students understand the Old Testament as a whole, learners explore it chronologically during the summer and fall quarters. Winter and spring quarter FaithWeaver lessons focus on the New Testament. The Sabbath school curriculum also connects to Kids Own Worship, the curriculum that they are using in Kids Church.

Do babies need to go to sabbath School?
All of the research shows that the first three years of life is when the most learning takes place for our children. We are seeing our babies as young as 6 months praising the Lord through music and stories, and our toddlers as young as 18 months learning their memory verses (verbally and through sign language),. Start developing your child’s love for Jesus through daily family worship and weekly worship at sabbath school and church from infancy. Don’t wait until your child is school age to make sabbath school a habit. By then you’ve wasted a lot of valuable time.

What time does Sabbath School start and finish?
All of the upstairs Sabbath schools (Preschool through grade 5) begin at 9:30 am. Baby and Me and the Toddler class begin at 9:45. It is important to bring your child on time, so they don’t miss valuable components of each lesson. All Sabbath schools finish at 10:15. Please come upstairs to pick up your children at 10:15. If you’d like to avoid the crowds downstairs, you can register them for kids church or child care at the upstairs Ask Me desk. But please do not tell your young kids to come downstairs and look for you on their own. New Hope wants to be a safe place for kids. The only way that can happen is with vigilant adult supervision.

What can I do to help carry over the learning at home?
Research shows that the most powerful influence on children’s faith development is the conversations about faith that take place in the home. You can help get your child ready for sabbath school each week by reading our sabbath school blog http://blogsabbathschool.blogspot.com/. This blog has an adult lesson and family worship ideas that go with the story for the week. After sabbath school every week your child receives a take-home paper that includes also ideas for family discussion and activities. For even more ideas, you can check out HomeConnect at http://www.faithweaver.com/, for link on the internet that families can explore together to reinforce weekly Bible Points.

What is your biggest need for Sabbath School for the upcoming year?
MEN - Our boys needs male spiritual role models, even at the youngest ages. To know, love and identify with God as a “father figure” they need to develop relationships with godly men. Sabbath schools are not all singing and dancing, our sabbath schools use a variety of learning styles including science experiments, acting, maps and models, history lessons, etc. Of course, we are happy to have moms, dads, young adults, grandparents, and couples serve in our sabbath school ministry. It’s a once a month commitment and our new teaching year begins July 2008. You will receive training. You will make new friends. You will be inspired to love and nurture the children here at New Hope Church. Will you consider serving? Contact Rajinie Dixit, Sabbath School Director (rajiniedixit@yahoo.com)