The Bright Beginnings God’s World curriculum is an activity-oriented science and social studies program that provides age appropriate Christian-based information on a variety of themes. A list of theme titles can be found in the GOD’S WORLD INDEX on pages 75–76. The God’s World appendix is divided into thirty-six topical units. The units are arranged alphabetically, however, can be taught in any order. A different theme is chosen weekly, and each unit has four daily lessons. Most lessons are followed by one or more activities marked with a . These hands-on activities are recommended to reinforce the concepts presented in the lesson, and you may choose to do some or all of them. The books listed at the conclusion of each unit are merely suggestions of titles that can be used to compliment the topic studied. These and many others are probably available at your local library. I have tried to include books that will not be offensive to Christian parents in any way. However, it is a good practice to review any and all books before reading them to your child.

1. Choose a topic that relates to the time of year (e.g., "Christmas" in December and "Spring" in March) or a subject that your child shows an interest in at the time (e.g. "Transportation" after taking a train trip; "Farming" after visiting Grandma and Grandpa’s farm; etc.).

2. Read a story or two to supplement your weekly theme. Reading can be an enjoyable time of closeness between you and your child. It will also stimulate imagination, improve listening and communication skills, and help develop an appreciation for books and reading that can last a lifetime. (See Appendix S2 for more information.)

3. A field trip can be as simple as a trip to the grocery store—or as elaborate as purchasing tickets to a ballet performance. Children love these excursions because they can actually see and experience things that they may have only read about before. Bright Beginnings offers some suggested field trips that correspond with the topics discussed in this section. The list can be used as a guide to help you plan outings that are convenient, educational, and fun for you and your child.

The supplies needed for the weekly theme are listed at the end of each unit. They are listed by day-number (e.g., the 1 refers to supplies needed for DAY 1), and supplies listed in parentheses are for the suggested/optional activities. Most of the things that are needed can probably be found around the house.

DAY 1: God Created Families
Discuss some of the things that God created families to do:

Discuss some of the guidelines that God has given to families:

Creatively describe the different members of your family. Let your child guess (from your description) whom you are talking about! Collect items from each family member and put them in a large bag or box. Let your child pull out each item—one at a time—and say to whom it belongs.

*Look at a family photo album. Share stories about the pictures.

*Make little stick puppets of family members on craft sticks. (Use old photographs if possible, or use pictures from catalogs that look like family members.) Glue the pictures on to poster board, cut them out, and then glue them onto craft sticks.

*Encourage your child to make up a play or have the family members "talk" to one another.

*Discuss (and give examples) of families that are different than yours, e.g., "your friend Jamie has brothers or sisters—it is just her dad, her mom, and Jamie" or "Your friend Ryan and his sister live with just their mom because their parents are divorced."

*Count the number of people in different families that you know. Graph the results if you wish.

On a large sheet of white construction paper or poster board, help your child make a family banner. (1) Print "GOD LOVES THE (family name) FAMILY" at the top; (2) trace each family member’s hand and print his or her name on or under it; (3) add favorite family scriptures, family motto, or other special sayings to the banner; and (4) decorate using markers, crayons, stickers, photographs, and so on.

1. (construction paper) (markers) (old magazines) (scissors) (glue)

2. items belonging to each family member, large bag or box, (family album) (old photographs or albums) (poster board) (craft sticks)

3. (photographs of grandparents, uncles and aunts)

4. large white sheet of construction paper or poster board, crayons or markers, stickers, old photographs, and so on.