Using Symbols With Kids

I recently attended the Dwell preview event. Each story in the curriculum has been given a symbol and these symbols are included on all of the materials for that story. My initial reaction (which I am learning isn’t always my best reaction) when I heard this idea was, why bother? This seems like an unnecessary detail. We want kids to get into the story not symbols. 

But then at the preview event I listened carefully and played with the some of the symbol cards that were placed on the table in front of me. We matched the symbols with the stories in Genesis, which turned out to be a lot of fun. These cards could be posted on the wall of your classroom as you tell each story and it would then serve as a reminder of all the stories you’ve told together this year. The images from the story would surround me and the kids.

This struck me as quite similar to what happens in Young Children and Worship where the wooden figures are placed on shelves and the stories also surround the children. The figures also remind the children and their leaders that the stories of God surround us. Our goal is to have those stories walk out of the church building with us and stay with us in our daily lives. Despite my initial skepticism, I’m really looking forward to having these symbol cards available to me.

What creative ways have you found to keep the stories in front of your children all year long?