Village Church launched the Workshop Rotation Model Church School program in January 2005. Why? Because this model…
Engages both kids and teachers
Creates appealing & attractive learning spaces
Boosts attendance—kids want to come!
Improves Bible knowledge
Enlivens both learning and teaching
The Workshop Rotation Model teaches major Bible stories or concepts in-depth for a five week period through child-friendly multimedia workshops:
Bibleland.org, the computer lab
Simon’s Studio, the video lab
Artisans Market, the art studio
Storytellers Tent, the drama workshop
Loaves and Fishes Cafe, cooking workshop
Map Room, games and science workshop
How does it work? After worshiping with their parents for the first part of the service, the children gather in Village Hall. Grades 1—5 meet their Shepherds, who welcome them to join together for a short orientation session before going to the appropriate workshop. The Shepherd leads a community building time in each classroom’s sacred space before the start of each workshop. The Shepherd then assists the workshop Leader during the class.
Each week, the classes “rotate” to a different workshop. One week the first graders will be at work in the computer lab while the fifth graders are acting out the story for the cameras in Simon’s Studio. The workshop leaders prepare their lessons from the curriculum, which offers a variety of activities for all age levels based on the story or theme.