WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT? What do you think of when you hear the
learn how to handle money God’s ways, it
word adventure?
can even transform a generation!
Something big? Something fun? Something
And you’re playing a huge role in making that happen. As a Junior’s Adventures
completely out of the ordinary?
leader, you get the chance to invest
Adventures can be all of those things. But maybe more than anything, genuine adventures change our lives. They leave us with memories that last
in the lives of kids. That’s
As a Junior’s Adventures leader, you get the chance to invest in the lives of kids.
a lifetime and help us see the world in a brand new way. That’s what makes Junior’s Adventures so important. While this Bible study curriculum is full of great stories and fun activities, it also has the potential to change kids’ lives. And since it’s designed to help children (ages kindergarten through fifth grade)
awesome, and it creates a legacy that can move the needle for years to come! Thank you so much for all you do— and for partnering with
us to bring God’s message about money to a new generation. We appreciate you, and we pray that you’ll be blessed for choosing to bless others.
Explanation of Bonus activities As a teacher, you may find yourself offering the Junior’s Adventures series to kids whose parents are taking Financial Peace University (FPU) or The Legacy Journey. This is a wonderful gift to both kids and parents because you are serving their families as a whole. To match the length of FPU, Junior’s Adventures includes three bonus activities. These activities were selected to introduce basic concepts, reinforce a valuable lesson, and put all the principles into practice. To match the length of The Legacy Journey you only need to include the Class Giving Activity after Week 3. Suggested schedules are listed below, with the bonus material shown in italics. The Leader Guides for each of the extra week’s activities can be found in the Other Resources folder.
Junior and FPU
Junior and The Legacy Journey
Week 1: Preclass Games
Week 1: Lesson 1, Ownership
Week 2: Lesson 1, Ownership
Week 2: Lesson 2, Work
Week 3: Lesson 2, Work
Week 3: Lesson 3, Give
Week 4: Lesson 3, Give
Week 4: Class Giving Activity
Week 5: Class Giving Activity
Week 5: Lesson 4, Save
Week 6: Lesson 4, Save
Week 6: Lesson 5, Spend
Week 7: Lesson 5, Spend
Week 7: Lesson 6, Contentment
(9 Weeks)
(7 Weeks)
Week 8: Lesson 6, Contentment Week 9: Recap and Celebration
GETTING STARTED
7
Junior’s Adventures Leader Guide
LESSON 1: OWNERSHIP Overview • Title: Ownership • Bible Passage: Genesis 1 • Story Summary: In today’s story, Junior hears the story of Creation and realizes that God owns everything. Junior also learns to take care of all the things God has given him—even his baseball abilities. • Bible Truth: God owns it all! • Junior Truth: We are called to take care of what God gives us. • Memory Verse: “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1, NRSV).
Timeline • Early Arriver Activities — 5 minutes • Welcome and Lesson Intro — 5 minutes • Junior Story and Review — 10 minutes • Large Group Game — 10 minutes • Small Group Activities — 20 minutes • Closing Activities — 10 minutes
LESSON 1 | OWNERSHIP
LESSON OVERVIEW | 1
Preparation • Read through the story for this week. Decide if you are going to print the illustrations or use electronic versions. Identify the places in the story where you will be showing the illustrations. • Review the activities in each part of the lesson. Each activity includes a Prep Level rating to let you know how much preparation is needed: 1 check = little preparation; 2 checks = moderate preparation; 3 checks = more extensive preparation. Activities at a Glance o Early Arriver Activities (page 3) • Coloring Sheet • Puzzle Stations • Creation Collage o Large Group Game (page 12) • Who Owns It? Baseball o Small Group Activities (pick 2 of 4, page 15) • What’s the Point? Poster • God’s Gift Box • Creation Concentration Game • Musical Chairs o Closing Activities (page. 23) • Memory Verse Game: Dig It! • Junior’s Coin Activity
• Identify and print/collect/purchase supplies you will need for this week’s lesson. • Communicate with your coleaders or volunteers so everyone will know his or her job during this week’s lesson.
LESSON 1 | OWNERSHIP
LESSON OVERVIEW | 2
Early Arriver Activities For Leaders: Kids who show up early will need something to do until class starts. We suggest setting up three activity stations and allowing kids to choose what they’d like to do. The Prep Level rating system shows you how much preparation each activity requires. As children arrive, welcome them to class and briefly point out the three options available. Remember, these are simply filler activities and don’t need to be completed prior to the lesson. Activity Stations
1. Coloring Sheet 2. Puzzle 3. Collage Creation
Station 1: Coloring Sheet Station Supplies needed:
• Lesson 1 Coloring Sheet (found in • •
the Junior’s Backpack folder) Crayons, markers, or colored pencils Table(s) and chairs
Prepare ahead of time:
• Print multiple copies of Lesson • •
1 Coloring Sheet (found in the Junior’s Backpack folder). Arrange table(s) and chairs. Stack coloring sheets and place coloring tools in the middle of the table.
Station 2: Puzzle Station Supplies needed:
• Age-appropriate puzzle » Grades K–3: 50 to 150 pieces » Grades 4–5: 200 to 300 pieces • Tables and chairs—one table for grades K–3 and one table for grades 4–5
LESSON 1 | OWNERSHIP
Prepare ahead of time:
• Arrange tables and chairs. • Dump puzzle pieces in center
of tables with the picture on box propped up and visible.
EARLY ARRIVER ACTIVITIES | 3
Junior Story & Review
5 min.
For Leaders: In today’s story, Junior learns that God really does own everything and that He has given us some great gifts to make a difference in the lives of others. By examining the story of Creation from Genesis 1, we can remind kids that God created them for a purpose and that He wants us to wisely use what He owns for His honor. It was the biggest baseball game of the season. Junior leaned forward, one foot on third base and the other ready to run. He watched as the pitcher released the ball with a whoosh and the batter connected with a crack. In a flash, Junior was moving! He cruised across home plate and turned to see his good friend, Billy, score another run behind him.
captain, you need to be a good player. But, even more important is your attitude.” “Now we’ve got to award the game ball! This young man got three hits, scored three runs, and caught four fly balls! Today’s game ball goes to . . . Junior!” Junior’s eyes got big, and he was speechless. He’d never won the game ball before! Show the picture!
The crowd cheered like crazy! Junior’s team, the Gazelles, had won! Junior and Billy joined their friend Sam to celebrate, high-fiving anyone who passed by. “Okay, boys,” said Coach Bunn as he motioned for the team to circle up. “You played great today! One more game before the state championship!”
The next day, Junior’s grin stretched from ear to ear anytime someone talked about the game.
“Yeah!” screamed the boys.
“How did you hit the ball so far?” his little sister Rachel asked.
“And it’s almost time to pick next year’s team captain. Remember, if you want to be
“I heard you scored fourteen runs in one inning!” another kid said.
Preview ends but story continues in Lesson 1
LESSON 1 | OWNERSHIP
JUNIOR STORY & REVIEW | 7
Small Group Activities
20 min.
For Leaders: Before the lesson, read through the instructions for each Lesson 1 activity below. Note the Prep Level rating for each activity. Choose two of the four activities for the lesson and talk with your coleaders about the activities you have chosen so they will know how to prepare. During the lesson, divide the class into groups based on grade level, with kids grades K–3 together and kids grades 4–5 together. This will allow you to dive more deeply into the content and reach kids where they are. Make sure that each group has no more than ten kids. Then, assign an adult volunteer to lead activities. For each group, choose two activities from the four listed below. Select activities that will play to your strengths as a teacher while also engaging the kids and allowing for their unique learning styles. When you and your coleaders complete the last activity, you can transition to the large group for the closing activities (see page 23).
Small Group Activity Options
1. What’s the Point? Poster
An art project to illustrate the lesson of Junior’s story
2. God’s Gift Box
An ongoing reminder that everything we have is a gift from God
3. Creation Concentration Game
A match game to help kids learn the days of creation and what God created
4. Musical Chairs
The traditional game with a twist! Kids without a chair can stay in the game if they’re able to correctly answer a question about Junior’s story.
LESSON 1 | OWNERSHIP
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES | 15
Option 2: God’s Gift Box Supplies needed:
• Empty shoeboxes (1 per kid) • Wrapping paper • Index cards (1 per kid) • Strips of paper (3 per kid) • Tape • Scissors
Prepare ahead of time:
• Make sure your shoeboxes have a • • •
lid and a bottom. Cut a slit in the top of each box that is large enough to fit a strip of paper into. Cut strips of paper large enough for kids to write a phrase or sentence on. Cut wrapping paper in squares large enough to cover boxes and lids. On index cards, write “God’s Gifts to Me.”
Leader: In Junior’s story, we learned something pretty cool: God owns it all! He owns
the earth, our toys, even us! Because He loves us, God wants to share what He owns with us. So He gives us all kinds of gifts. Today, we’re going to make a gift box. You can choose the wrapping paper to cover your box and its lid. Just be sure to wrap the box and lid separately. Make it look as pretty or as cool as you like. Give kids a few minutes to wrap their boxes and lids. Provide help where needed. Once boxes are wrapped, cut a slit in the paper to match the slit in the lid of the box.
Leader: Great job, everyone! All of your boxes look awesome. Now, I’ve got a surprise
for you. These boxes are actually a gift to you!
Take out the God’s Gifts to Me index cards and help kids tape them to the top of their boxes.
Leader: This box is a place for you to keep reminders of God’s gifts to you. He really
does give us all kinds of gifts. Can you think of some of the things God has given you?
Allow kids to answer. Prompt for things like toys, family, a house, the outdoors, talents, time, and more.
LESSON 1 | OWNERSHIP
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES | 17
Leader: That’s right! Everything we have is a gift from God. Today, I want you to
write down three things God has given you on your three strips of paper and then place them in your box. You can take this box home and put it in your room. If you think of something else God has given you, just write it down and add it to the box! You can even ask your parents, sister, or brother to help you think of things. The more you add to the box, the fuller it will be! Then, every once in a while, open the box and read the slips of paper. This will remind you of all the things God has given you. Allow kids time to fill out the slips of paper and place them in their boxes. For kids who finish early, ask them about the gifts they wrote down and why.
Up Next: Complete selected Small Group Activities, then transition to Closing Activities
LESSON 1 | OWNERSHIP
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES | 18
Dave Ramsey’s Junior’s Adventures
A LETTER TO PARENTS For today’s lesson, your child learned that God owns it all and that God wants us to take good care of everything He gives us: our stuff, our talents, and even our relationships. Sometime this week, take your child outside. You can walk out your front door or go to a nearby park. This exercise will allow your child to engage their senses to reinforce the lesson. Ask your child to:
• Look around and share what they see that reminds them of God’s creation. • Listen for things that remind them of God’s creation. • Sniff and smell for things that remind them of God’s creation. • Feel around for things that remind them of God’s creation. Remind your child that because God created everything, He owns it all! He loves us and wants to share with us by giving us all kinds of gifts. He wants us to take care of what He’s given us so He can trust us with even more gifts!
ity: At-Hom e Activ IO N AT DIS C OV E R G OD’S CRE ____________________ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ I saw __ ________________ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ I heard ____ _______________
________ I smelled ________________
_____________________ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ I felt __
Lesson 1 • Letter to Parents
