I am so excited to be here and to have the chance to talk to all the wonderful fans of What’s in the Bible?! Isn’t this an awesome site? Don’t you just love these DVDs and the way that they teach us (ok, teach our kids…) what’s truly in God’s Word?! Phil Vischer has done an amazing job at bringing all the history, characters and most importantly, God’s intended messages to life for all of us to enjoy. I, for one, am so grateful!
Oh wow! Excuse my manners. Introductions are in order…
My name is Lisa Strnad, and I’m a married WAHM (Work At Home Mom), who home schools my two sons, David Jr.(12) and Joey (8). I’ve worked in some aspect of Christian media for several years doing writing, marketing, PR, and event coordination. My husband of 18 years, Dave, has an even more eclectic background: Army Captain, counter-terrorism instructor for the military, and for the last 23 years, a financial advisor. We live with our two goldfish and assorted caught lizards, caterpillars, and pill bugs (ahhh…boys!) in sunny Southern California.
I’m a writer who truly loves communicating with other Christian parents. I use the word “communicate” because I, along with the rest of the WITB team, are hoping to create an interactive community of parents; ministry professionals; and teachers who can come together and discuss What’s in the Bible?. We want to know how YOU are utilizing this series. I’m positive that, together, we can come up with some amazing ideas! I look forward to getting to know many of you through this blog!!
Let me break the ice and tell you a little bit of how my family is using the DVDs.
As I stated I’m a WAHM, home-schooling mom. My youngest son, Joey, has (non-medicated) ADHD and auditory processing issues. In plain English that means that everyday is a challenge for me to effectively teach him–anything. He just loses interest in the typical way subjects are taught. The modality I teach is just as important as the curriculum I choose. As Christian parents, it was important for Dave and I to include a Bible component to Joe’s core curriculum.
Assuming that some of you may also home school and/or are conscientious about teaching your children about the Bible, you know the available Bible curriculum for a second -third graders. While most are inclusive in their approach, having Bible stories; memory verses; history lessons; and maybe even an art activity, they lack one important element. They aren’t really enjoyable for the kids. In fairness, maybe your kiddos enjoy them–and that’s great! Mine either fall asleep, dread Bible class altogether, or perhaps (if I’m really lucky) get the rote memorization done without connecting to the message of the story.
Ineffective learning brought on by an ineffective teaching modality. At least ineffective for our needs. Maybe you have a similar situation?
Many months ago, when I saw the What’s in the Bible? DVD#1, I made a prayerful decision to use this series as my Bible curriculum. Being a huge Muppets fan, I knew that Joey would LOVE the Jelly Telly Puppets, the fun music and the sheer wackiness of the program that contained such a valuable message!
This was long before there was talk about having any curriculum associated with the DVDs. So, you can imagine my joyful enthusiasm when I found out there was going to be such a curriculum available for each DVD!
I’m totally looking forward to the launch of the curriculum packages! Until that happens I am piecing together a weekly 30 minute video lesson (which for my needs, I intermittently pause and check to make sure he is understanding what we are learning). We have a weekly memory verse, and some sort of art project, which I pull off of the internet! It’s been very effective, so far!
Now that you know a little about me, I am anxious to know about you! How have you decided to use the WITB series? Perhaps as entertainment? –Or mostly entertainment with a fun teaching component? –Or maybe you’re in children’s ministry (or a homeschooler, like me) and are actually already utilizing WITB as a teaching resource?
Tell us.
Between you and me, I’ve heard there are a lot of fun things planned for this web site! Stay tuned! I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what we have up our sleeves!
