How does this all work?

KidsFaith.org is primarily a download site for curriculum products published by Foundations Publishing.
Membership includes  unlimited assess to all Kidsfaith's curriculum, lessons, journals, music, and other resources. Access is given to all people in your organization, church, school.
Membership is FREE.  You can download as much as you want.  We only ask that you do not use it for commercial purposes.
All copyrights remain with Foundations Publishing, copyright information can be found at www.kidsfaith.org/copyright.htm.

How many products are available to download?

Our curriculum products are constantly be expanded.  Currently there are curriculums and products for these levels:

Pre-K, Kindergarten, Early Elementary, Children’s Church, Middle School, Family Small Groups, and Home School.

Visit our download area to do a search on topics and age levels.

Can you use the curriculums at any time or are they specific to a year like other programs?

All our products are designed to be used at anytime and can be used over again each year as your students get older.  You do not have to always be ordering new curriculum each year.  If you wanted to you could download all our curriculums and only pay the one year fee.  This amount of curriculum would keep you going for years.  Our goal is to provide people with the resources to teach children the core concepts of the Christian faith.

How do I order printed versions of KidsFaith products?

Printed versions are still available by visiting our store at (www.kidsfaith.org/categories.asp).

Shipping usually takes between 2-4 weeks depending on the product ordered.  We accept Visa and MC.

How do I print out the curriculum after I download it?

The best way to print is to use a printer that prints on both sides.  This is called duplex printing.  It saves on paper.  If you do not have a duplex printer then you can just print on one side.  

If the document is large, you will want to use a binder (comb/wire etc) to bind the whole document together.  If you do not have a binder, you could also use a 3 ring binder to keep it all together.  You can also just print the pages that you are going to use that week.

As an option, you could load the file onto your laptop and use the laptop screen to teach from.  This might be a good idea when the curriculum has lots of color, e.g. Early Foundations.

Is the curriculum in color?

Some curriculums are very color intensive, like the Early Foundations series.  Others have a moderate amount of color.  You can choose to print the curriculums in both color and B/W.

What is your statement of faith?

Our statement of faith can be found Here.

Why modern and Biblical stories in some of your curriculums?

Standard Sunday curriculums revolve around Bible stories. Foundations takes a different tack. Although Bible stories are an integral part of any Christian curriculum, Foundations strives to connect these Bible stories with the truths of Christianity; thereby using the stories as evidence of the truth or an example of the truth. We hope that children will understand why these stories matter, not just that they happened a long time ago.

Foundations also balances Bible stories with modern stories attempting to make modern connections and create thoughtful answers to everyday challenges and questions.  This brings the tenants of the Christian faith into a useful context, where children can apply what they learned, and it becomes a part of their lives, instead of segmenting them into a “church” category.

This dual focus allows Biblical stories to remain fresh and relevant. Too many children graduate from Sunday school knowing every pertinent Bible story, but not knowing why it matters or how it connects to their lives. They become bored with the stories and don’t see the meaning and nuances that they hold.  The Foundations curriculum strives to make the connections between the lessons learned in the Bible and the child’s life.

Why teach a song?

Because it works. The early church knew this as they created thousands upon thousands of hymns for the church audience to remember the Biblical truths that they could not read.  Likewise, young children will quickly learn songs, and sing them spontaneously enjoying every fun movement, note, and word.  It is a time tested way to teach knowledge, and once learned will seldom be forgotten.  For a list of songs and sample music downloads CLICK HERE.

Aren’t they too young to memorize verses?

Children are never too young to memorize verses, and they are an important part of understanding God’s word.

Foundations has picked simple, easy to memorize verses, which correspond with the monthly topics for children to learn.  It has also given ample time to accomplish this task.

Do we have to use the scripted prayer?

The scripted prayer is meant as a guideline or starting point. It is by no means meant to be the only prayer for the month. It is given as a reminder that prayer is essential in our daily walk, and must be taught to our children.

What’s the difference between the Sunday school questions and the parent questions?

The Sunday school questions are brief and to the point. They were written to give the teacher an informal assessment tool to ensure that their students were listening and understanding the text.

The parent/child questions are much deeper and more thoughtful. They were created to explore the deeper meaning of the story, and to create spiritual connections between parent and child.

Does this work?

Absolutely. The combination of the stories, verse, song, prayer, activities, questions, repetition, church and parent connections is a powerful tool to teach children.
 

How long will it take?

Raising spiritual children is a lifelong endeavor, but using the Foundations curriculum at home only takes 10-20 minutes a day, depending on the emotional maturity of your child.

Will I see any other benefits?

Many extra benefits will be noticed by using the Foundations curriculum at home. Most notably will be the connection between parent and child. Your children will begin to see you as the spiritual leader of the family, and will look to you as the example of Christian life.

Nightly discussions will open doors to dialogues about your Christian faith, life situations, and emotional hurdles.

Parents will begin to understand their children at a deeper, more spiritual level.

Children will also improve their reading and comprehension skills as well as critical thinking and analysis skills.

For Teachers Teaching Early Foundations:

Why don't you have a reproducible page for the stories each week instead of having to purchase books to send home?

When you send a child home with nicely printed and bound book with the story in color and the parent/child study questions, the likelihood is greater that it will be read to the child during the week.

Why are there two different versions of some stories?

When Foundations was tested in a Sunday school classroom, many of the teachers wanted to accommodate a younger audience (toddlers and younger.) They requested that their be an easier, younger rendition of the more complex stories, thereby giving teachers and parents a choice when reading to different age groups.

Many of the stories are simple in their origin, and didn’t need a second version; therefore they remained the sole text of the story.

Why are the crafts so simple?

Foundations crafts are not meant as a trophy or demonstration of art skills, they were created to become a talking point for parents and teachers, and to reinforce the story. Therefore they are very simple, meant to require a minimum amount of preparation, and are intentionally drawn from the pictures and text. Crafts, in many instances, can be overdone, haphazardly performed, and completely non-related to the lessons learned. Foundations strives to remain on focus with simple, relatable activities.

Every month we do the same “verse sign” the first week. Why?

Foundations is not just a Sunday school curriculum, it is program that transcends into the home with the parents and the child. It attempts to equip parents with the necessary information and props to do a home study with their children. The verse sign, created the first week of every month, is part of that program. It is our hope that parents will take that sign home, hang it somewhere in the home where it can be referred to and used to memorize the verse.

Our test family hung it in the room where the story was told before bedtime. Others might hang it on the refrigerator and practice the verse at breakfast.  Whatever the circumstances, it is just one more piece of the equipping puzzle that Foundations hopes will yield results.

Another positive product is that the first week of the month, when a new topic is introduced, can be stressful. Knowing what the craft is ahead of time can ease this pressure and make for a more relaxing week. Feel free to modify and be creative with this craft, adding new and unique touches every month.

Can we change the newsletter?

Yes! The monthly letter is suggested for the first week of the month, but it can be changed and accommodated to fit your church classrooms, teachers, and unique qualities. We encourage you to make it your own. This is the perfect opportunity to advertise volunteer opportunities, introduce new teachers, request materials from parents, and make connections with your congregation.

It also provides a forum for discussing the intentions of the Foundations curriculum, and to encourage parents to become the spiritual leaders of their family.

Every church and classroom is individually operated; please feel free to adjust the newsletter to fit your style and personality.

How about posting the verse, song, and prayer in our classrooms?

That’s a great idea and one that we would encourage. It would create a more relaxed flow to the circle time experience and add reinforcement.  Just like the ABC’s and Months of the Year board found in typical preschool classrooms, having the verse, song, and prayer displayed on the walls can greatly enhance the classroom experience.

What if I don’t have a classroom?

Foundations was originally tested in a mobile church, where the teacher’s lounge of a high school was used for the pre-k program with children between 6 months and 6 years of age. Still, Foundations was easily implemented. Every month they wrote the verse, song, and prayer on a large piece of tag board, which was transported with their collection of toys and materials in large bins, along with the monthly binder, which was used as a guide for the month.

Foundations is meant to be simple, with very few support materials needed. Even the books are in a smaller format, meant to be given away and stored easily.

How can I keep track of all these books?

The nice thing is, you don’t have to. The books are meant to go home with the children and not return. Our hope is that they will read the books over and over.

We suggest that you order the entire Foundations curriculum for one year, and then store the materials until they are needed. Because the books are compact, and the binders simple, the space needed will not be much.

Then work a month ahead in your preparation. As long as you have the corresponding book packs for the coming month, you are in great shape. If you need extra books, because you class has doubled in size, for example, they are easy and quick to procure. Furthermore, if you have extra books at the end of the month, tuck them away for next year. If you lose them, you can easily replace them at a minimal expense.

Also, the months were not created in a particular order. If you are without books for the month ahead, skip to another month where you are ready with supplies.

The mobile church where the Foundations curriculum was tested placed all of its materials into small storage bins. Each bin was labeled with the monthly topic. The storage bins were then transported with the toys and other materials each week, and at the end of the month was replaced with a new monthly box. The used box was then placed in storage with the other 11 waiting boxes. In total, the entire curriculum with books, binders, crafts, verses, songs, prayers, and instructions fit into 12 small plastic storage bins.  At the end of the year, the books for all twelve months were refreshed, and the process began again.

Isn’t this a lot of repetition for the students? Won’t they get bored?

Yes, it is intentionally repetitious and no, they won’t get bored.  How many times have you sung the ABC song? How many times have you perused the pages of Goodnight Moon with your young son or daughter? Preschool children naturally enjoy repetition and decide on their own their favorite stories and songs. It is our hope that the repetition of the stories over three years will ingrain in them not only the stories and songs themselves, but also the lessons learned.

Why do we repeat the year over and over again throughout the preschool years?

The Foundations premise is based on the knowledge that children need repetition and guidance to learn basic skills. It is a spiraled curriculum, meaning that it completes a full circle of ideas before repeating the circle again. Foundations needs to be taught for 2 to 5 years to have its full effect. Children’s skills and memory develop slowly but steadily throughout the preschool years, and only repetition of the basic knowledge over a long period of time will fulfill the goals of the program.

Each year that the child is enrolled in the Foundations program they will develop a deeper understanding of the concepts and will eventually leave the preschool years with a firm grasp of the twelve topics presented.

What if the classroom questions are too old for my students? Or too young?

The Classroom questions are meant as a guideline, not a rule. They can be modified to accommodate the ages and emotional abilities of your students.  What is important is that you conduct a dialogue about the story with the children, not simply read the book and then abandon it.  Children learn best when they can discuss their thoughts about and details of the stories.

Foundations was created for a multi-age classroom, with the understanding that the classroom experience is not to be scripted, but rather flexible to the various needs and ages of the attendees.  Feel free to make the questions your own.

Why do we have to assess our preschool children?

The monthly assessments created in the Foundations curriculum are informal and brief. They have two purposes: to give parents an informal evaluation of their child’s spiritual knowledge, and to make the entire Foundations curriculum more pertinent.

During the creation and implementation of any curriculum, you want to keep in mind the end goal of the lessons. Assessments help the teacher focus on what is important, while evaluating the effectiveness of the system.  Without some kind of evaluation, there is no way to gauge how much the children are learning, and how pertinent the curriculum is to that learning.

The assessments are completely optional, and should not be used as a sole evidence of effectiveness; they are simply another tool in the box.

With that said, however, the assessments are really only designed for the oldest students in their final year of the curriculum. They are meant to evaluate the program as a whole, not be a running tally, but instead a cumulative assessment.