Children's Ministry, Faith Nurture
Five Ways DWELL's Story Symbols Can Help You Tell God's Story
0 comments
823 views
Images are the simplest and most effective way to make sure that information is stored as a long-term memory. As per Dr. Lynell Burmark, an education consultant, our short term memory processes words and can only retain about seven bits of information. In contrast, images are directly processed by our long-term memory, where they get indelibly etched.
This is why I love the Dwell curriculum’s use of story symbols. Each Dwell lesson includes a simple symbol that provides a visual representation of the narrative. The Dwell leader is encouraged to show the symbol, connecting it with the week’s story and also using the symbols from previous lessons to review. Children who may not immediately remember what was discussed two weeks ago, readily proclaim, “Zaccheaus!” when they see the sweet picture of a face peering out from a tree.
I think one of the best kept Dwell secrets (which was never intended to be a secret!) is that you can purchase beautiful full-color sets of these story symbols for just a few dollars. What a great investment in your kids’ faith formation!
As a Dwell coordinator, I provided story symbol sets for my Dwell leaders each year and loved seeing how they used them to decorate their classrooms.
Taking some ideas from my leaders and some from the Dwell community, here are five ways to display your Dwell story symbols:
(Click on the links for a photo of each idea)
How about you? Do you have another idea for displaying the story symbols? Share your own creativity by commenting below or on our Dwell Leaders Facebook Group.
Want your own copy of the Dwell story symbols? You can purchase them from the Shop page at DwellCurriculum.org or by calling 800-333-8300. The cost is $14 US per year, per level for 36 sturdy, reusable, full-color images.
Having trouble viewing the example images? They are also posted on the Dwell Leaders Facebook Group.
Children's Ministry, Faith Nurture
Children's Ministry, Faith Nurture
Children's Ministry
Children's Ministry
Connect to The Network and add your own question, blog, resource, or job.
Add Your Post
Let's Discuss
We love your comments! Thank you for helping us uphold the Community Guidelines to make this an encouraging and respectful community for everyone.