Story telling is an enjoyable and effective way of communicating ideas and concepts that are often difficult to put into words. This short article on Telling Stories by Heart for First Day School is from the April 2007 issue of Friends Bulletin of Pacific Yearly Meeting.
In the Fall of 2001, an ad hoc committee met for several months to create a basic structure to aid First Day School planning and to ensure that various topics were covered over a three year cycle. The report was presented at Business Meeting in December 2001.
- Report of Ad hoc Curriculum Committee, December 2001.
Resources for the various topic areas outlined in the above document can be accessed through the Teaching Resources menu at the right of this page.
Times and circumstances change and there may be concerns or issues that arise in the meeting that are not addressed in the Ad Hoc Curiculum Committee Report. Here are some helpful Queries for planning a lesson or series of lessons on a new topic.
Once you've chosen a topic or issue, you'll want to find books, especially picture books, that illustrate and bring a meaningful and engaging story to the children. Here are a couple of good resources to help find books that address specific topics.
- Considerations When Choosing and Using Books in First Day School by Gail Thomas
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Choosing Books for First Day School:-Guidelines for Selecting Books by Sparklers
Sparkling Still (in our library) has many lists of books relevant to Quaker topics and issues of interest. All of the books mentioned are listed in the Sparkling Still LibraryThing and many books have been added since its 2013 publication.
Changes to the links in the published Sparkling Still can be found here.
Early Friends knew the Bible well and often quoted it in their writings. Children's Bibles are varied in their presentation and Michael Gibson, former Religious Education Coordinator at FGC wrote a review of several available Bibles which was updated in 2009.
Training Workshop Resources
Anne Collins of Stillwater, OK, Monthly Meeting facilitated a workshop for First Day School Teachers, February 16, 2008. Click the link in the right hand menu to access the handouts.