Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why use DIGGING DEEP?
This curriculum is designed to help you teach children to dig deep into God's Word in order to find treasures for each of their lives. It brings fresh attention to the ancient, supportive roots underlying the Christian faith - an understanding of the New Testament in the light of the Old. It is written from a scriptural perspective with a strong emphasis on developing a personal relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

2. How is this approach different from other curricula? Each of the studies focuses on a theme for an extended period of time with ALL of your Sunday School children, which allows for an in-depth study of a topic. Each lesson includes an activity/craft, discussion questions, memory verse bookmarks/puzzles and review games to help reinforce the lesson. Excitement and anticipation builds as the lessons progress!

3. What does multi-level mean? All the children (ages 5-11) are learning the same theme together which builds unity. It encourages the older children to "look out" for the younger children, helping them with their activities in the classroom. Multi-level classrooms also give more freedom for children to share what is on their hearts without regard for their peers' acceptance.

4. Why are children excited about this curriculum? The children become excited to learn new things about the Bible that they may not have heard before. There is excitement about building a tabernacle or preparing items for the Passover feast. And the review games are a fun way to show their knowledge!

There is much research to show that children learn best by doing. The process of doing a related activity immediately following the lesson reinforces the concept for the children. This type of instruction will teach to many different learning styles visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The activities will 'cement' the lesson in their mind, and we pray that the Holy Spirit will 'cement' it into their hearts as well.

5. How is it organized? The structure of this curriculum is arranged somewhat differently from traditional Sunday School Curriculum. The lesson is taught to ALL the children together in one meeting room. The children are then divided into their pre-arranged groups (up to 10 per group, mixed ages). At this time, the TEACHERS will highlight the lessons, carry out the pre-planned activities/crafts, play the review games and pray with the children.

The volumes are organized lesson by lesson with a Lesson Overview, Teaching, Discussion Questions, Memory Verse, Craft/Activity Pages and Review Games. The Scope and Sequence will give you a clear overview of the whole unit.

6. Is it "teacher-friendly"? YES! We were very intentionally creating curriculum that would be easy to use in our fast-paced society. The lessons are written to the children, as if the leader was talking directly to them! The teachers (in each group) do NOT need to prepare in advance, but will learn the lesson as the main leader teaches ALL the children. The teachers will follow up in their groups with discussion questions and answers, which they will ask during their activity/craft time. The review games are included in the lesson for the week with prepared questions and answers as well. We have found that with this method teachers are EAGER TO TEACH and EAGER TO LEARN these new treasures for themselves.

7. How does it use the gifts of people in my congregation? We believe that the body of Christ is responsible for supporting parents in the training of our children, It is wonderful to be able to use the gifts within our church body to bless this program... artists, crafters, woodworkers, worship leaders, etc. It allows many people to be involved in small ways to make the best use of their time and gifts.

8. How does the cost compare to other curricula? Each church needs only to buy ONE volume for their Sunday School program. There are NO weekly take-home papers to buy. Instead you will photocopy memory verse bookmarks for the children to take home. Permission is granted to photocopy the designated pages for use by the teachers of the church/institution for which it was originally purchased. The craft/activities that are included will require the purchase of materials. We have been intentional to include keepsake crafts rather than paper 'throw aways'. You may need to budget accordingly.

9. Have other churches used it successfully? YES! This curriculum has been field-tested in churches and home schools, with exciting reports. Children and teachers have been inspired to dig deeper into God's Word.

• Read testimonials

10.Is there an order to using this curriculum? Not necessarily, although many have used the Tabernacle Curriculum first, then onto The Passover or The Feasts.