Introduction
What is the Narrative Lectionary?
What’s in a Teacher’s Guide?
Scope & Sequence
Other Resources
Ordering & Download Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
Engage your pre-kindergarten through second-grade students in the amazing story of God’s love found in Scripture! Focus your instruction on the developmental needs of your students with this easy-to-use, flexible curriculum. Connect the learning your students receive in class with worship, home devotions, and the faith formation of other family members with the integrated products in our Living the Word (Narrative Lectionary) series, which has something for upper elementary students, youth, adults, worship, and home!
Each lesson plan provides all the information you and your teachers need to teach the weekly lesson, including necessary supplies, step-by-step instructions, and even scripts for those who want them. The lessons contain more activities than you can use within a typical education hour, which allows teachers to choose the activities that best fit their students and their teaching styles. Each activity found in the Living the Word: Kids (PK-2nd) (Year 3; 2024-2025) curriculum is labeled as to whether it is the best fit for PK-K, 1st-2nd, or the whole PK-2nd range.
The Living the Word: Kids (PK-2nd) (Year 3; 2024-2025) curriculum is a high-quality, low-cost option for congregations and ministries of all sizes. Pricing is based on your estimated attendance range, and the purchase of a single license covers the entire congregation. You and your teachers can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as each quarter is released (See the current Release Dates page for details). You can then print whichever pages you would like, or access the PDF files through your mobile devices!
What is the Narrative Lectionary?
The Narrative Lectionary is a nine-month calendar of Scripture readings which focuses on one story or passage each Sunday or festival day. It starts in September with a story about creation and touches on the major stories, characters, and plot points in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) until mid-December. At that point, the lectionary picks up one of the four Gospels (one Gospel each year for a four-year cycle) and moves through many of the main stories or passages of that Gospel sequentially until just after Easter. From the second Sunday of Easter through Pentecost Sunday, the readings are pulled from Acts and the Letters. Read more about this on our What Is the Narrative Lectionary? webpage.
What’s in a Teacher’s Guide?
Each downloadable lesson includes:
- Teacher Pages: A big idea for the day (The Point), unit theme, background information, and a diverse menu of possible activities all make it easy for teachers to prepare for their own unique class.
- Story Centers: Three simple activities are provided each week specifically for the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students that can be used as centers in a rotation or whole-class activities.
- Into the Story: Students gather together and get ready to hear the assigned story with this introductory activity.
- Bible Nuts & Bolts– Each week, a different theme or structure of the Bible is introduced to give students an understanding of the Bible as a whole (recommended for 1st and 2nd grade students).
- Learning the Story– Students engage in the week’s Bible passage in a variety of ways, from simple Bible studies to puppet shows!
- Living the Story– Students connect the Bible story to a spiritual practice (prayer, worship, fellowship, or service) each week through a hands-on activity, helping students live out their biblical faith.
- Additional Activities– Each lesson includes a wealth of additional games, crafts, service projects, and other activities to reinforce the day’s themes.
- The Story @ Home– Send this reproducible take-home sheet with the students to share with parents what students learned in class, as well as giving suggestions for daily Family Devotions for the upcoming week. Take-home sheets can also be emailed to families to avoid the possibility of lost papers!
Scope & Sequence
Check out the Living the Word Scope and Sequence (2024-2025) for the complete list of lessons!
Other Resources
Our Living the Word: Kids (PK-2nd) product complements our other Narrative Lectionary products:
- Living the Word: Singing God’s Story (PK-6th) – Original children’s music following the Narrative Lectionary.
- Living the Word: Kids (3rd-6th) – For upper elementary students.
- Living the Word: Mini Lessons (PK-6th) – Short lessons for short classes.
- Living the Word: Youth – For confirmation or youth groups.
- Living the Word: Small Groups – For young adult or adult small group discussions.
- Living the Word: Contexts & Connections – Bible background notes for faith formation leaders.
- Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education – For leading interactive, intergenerational learning experiences in a classroom setting.
- Living the Word: Cross+Gen Worship – For creating interactive, intergenerational worship experiences.
- Living the Word: Sharing God’s Story @ Home – Bulletin insert bringing faith formation home with a weekly devotional tool.
Ordering & Download Information
To order, go to the Living the Word: Kids (PK-2nd) (Year 3; 2024-2025) product page and select your best estimate of the attendance range of your class(es). You will also select the season you would like to order, the Full Year, or the Fall, Winter, Spring quarters, or individual lessons to meet your needs. After you add the product to your cart and complete the rest of your shopping, you can proceed to checkout. There, complete the form and select your payment type.
All resource materials are available as digital downloads (PDF files) for printing or using electronically. The end user licensing agreement (EULA) allows congregations to download, print, and use the curriculum lessons as often as you would like if the use remains in the purchasing congregation.
After your payment is processed, you can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as each quarter is released (See the current Release Dates page for details). Each quarter purchased comes in a single compressed (ZIP) file, which your operating system should be able to open and extract the folders and PDF files, at which point you can print or share with your leaders as you please!
For more detailed information on ordering, downloading, and other topics, please go to our Customer Service FAQ page.