Curriculum Spotlight

I came across a curriculum for inner city kids that inspired me. Tasty Faith puts out nice little 2-page spreads they call "Shorties" that bring the Bible straight into the heart of the inner city. They refer to Joshua's taking back the promised land as "turf wars",refer to Jesus' healing of Legion as a lesson in running with the wrong crowd and the dead-ends of bad choices being like getting stuck in an alley. I love how they connect these truths!  I also love their illustrations.  Best part: an average pack (10x2-page lessons) runs at about $11.00, and is totally reproducible. 

The downside for me: it's very much a small-group/individual style curriculum (no storytelling time.)  There's good BIble connections, Bible verses to look up and well thought-out questions to draw out the life lesson.  It also comes with a colouring page that's cool enough for older elementary.  But it's not the full meal deal.  For our ministry, we always use the large group teaching time, and sometimes use the small group.  "Shorties" would work as an add-on, or a building block, but I would still be writing my own lesson (nothing new there!)  It is also very dependent on the literacy of the children - which is very poor in our area.  Now, they sell this as a feature, describing their lessons as a literacy tool.  They also suggest using it for after school clubs to teach literacy (not just during "Bible time").  So, good point.  But it doesn't fit with our current ministry model.

All in all, I love what they've done, and at that price am willing to do some of my own writing to make it work for a few sessions.  Well done, Tasty Faith!


http://www.tastyfaith.com