Kids pay attention to what other kids say. The Sunday School curriculum you use can put this fact to work in their favor. By age 11, 50% of a child’s social activity occurs within the context of peers (Hartup, 1983). The influence can be positive or negative, depending on the choice of peers. I’m sure you’ve heard this: “But, Moooom . . . ALL the kids are doing it!”

“When students learn from someone who is ‘just like them,’ they are more engaged in their learning” (www.amazing-kids.org). Yet in school, Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, it’s almost exclusively adults doing the talking.

Role models are also a big influence on children. Unfortunately, the most visible role models are frequently negative. How often have you seen someone on TV or in the movies that you would want your child to imitate? (Did you cringe at that? Me, too!)

Sunday School curriculum can be a great opportunity to counteract the negative influences in children’s lives. Imagine the impact if the positive direction given by parents and teachers could be backed up with positive peer role models! Let me share with you some Sunday School materials that use this approach effectively.

Kids Color Me Bible

One great Sunday School curriculum is the brand-new Kids Color Me Bible, a free, printable, online book. It is saturated with good peer role models. This engaging book is illustrated entirely by children, and contains the best answers kids gave to questions about God, life and the Bible. Then, it gives opportunity for Sunday School students to participate by filling in their own answers and providing their own art.

Click here to view the Kids Color Me Bible. It’s free! No registration required.

Mission Explorers Video Series

Here is the best of the best Sunday School materials: the adventure of a child traveling around the world visiting real missionaries. The Mission Explorers Streaming Video series is designed to show missions through the eyes and experience of the winner of the Children’s Bible Contest, 11-year-old Hillary Welborn. By the way, Hillary is a STELLAR role model for children. (No, I’m not her mom…)

This could be one of the best Sunday School subjects you’ve had in a long time. See for yourself.

Click here to view the Mission Explorers Streaming Video. It’s free! No registration required.

Online Kid TV Interviews

Here’s another great tool you could use to introduce or reinforce your Sunday School curriculum. In the Kid TV Interviews, children can watch their peers answer questions about God, life and the Bible. Humor, insight and passion characterize their answers. These are the kind of peers you want your children to imitate. The spots could be used in Sunday School to introduce a topic or lesson, or in church to promote your Sunday School classes.

Click here to view the Kids Talk About God Online Kid TV Interviews. It’s free! No registration required.

Scripture Memory Tool

Here’s one more thing you could add to your Sunday School materials: scripture memory cards. The Kids Talk About God Online Art Gallery has dozens of scriptures, each illustrated by a child. They can easily be printed out as 3.5”x5” cards, complete with scriptures and art. You could hand one out to your class each week, and encourage them to memorize the Bible verse by the following Sunday.

Click here to view the Kids Talk About Online Art Gallery. It’s free! No registration required.

Click here to check out all the Sunday School curriculum possibilities available through the Kids Click Menu.