Goals

  • To develop a growing respect and love for God and His Word
  • To build connections between Bible teachings and other academic areas of learning
  • To expound upon their sense of awe and wonder about how their world works.
  • To hear, recognize, reproduce, and manipulate the
    sounds of language in a playful manner.
  • To introduce the names and sounds of letters in a meaningful way.
  • To develop basic math concepts using manipulatives - a 'hands on' process.
  • To instill an overall love for learning through enjoyable, 
    developmentally appropriate experiences
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Joyful Heart Bible and Rhyme is a FREE curriculum that is available on this website.  However, if you would like a revised/updated version of this curriculum in an easier to print format, please consider purchasing Joyful Heart Bible and Rhyme - an ebook for sale based off of the work published on these pages - compiled, refined, and reformatted making it easier to prepare and use!

What's included in the FREE online version?

An Overview of the Lessons

There are a total of 38 planned weekly themes in the Joyful Heart Bible and Rhyme Curriculum, designed to be used during a typical school calendar year (August through May).  Each weekly theme,  listed below, is based on a Bible story. A nursery rhyme was chosen to correspond with each Biblical text. Phonemic awareness, Bible memorization, a simple science concept, cooking, songs and movement, and letter recognition and sounds are incorporated into each set of weekly lesson plans. The review weeks are intended to be used to review all aspects of the curriculum and to build in opportunities to work with seasonal concepts and activities.

More In Depth Details

The following links will take you to a Daily Plan Sheet, samples of activities, words to songs, and free printables for each week.

Weeks 1 & 2 : Creation
Week 3 : Adam & Eve: The Fall of Man
Week 4 : Noah & the Ark
Week 5 : Abraham & Sarah
Week 6 : Jacob & Esau
Week 7 : Joseph and his brothers
Week 8 : The Exodus
Fall : Review
Week 9 : 12 Spies in Canaan
Week 10 : Battle of Jericho
Halloween : Review
Week 11: David & Goliath
Week 12 : Ark of the Covenant
Week 13 : Elijah
Thanksgiving : Review
Week 14 : Jonah
Week 15 : Daniel in the Lion's Den
Week 16: Jesus' Birth
Christmas : Review
Seasons : Review
Week 17 : Light to the World
Week 18 : Wise and Foolish Builders
Week 19: Feeding the Multitudes
Week 20 : The Widow's Gift
Valentine's : Review
Week 21 : Parable of the Sower
Week 22 : The Good Samaritan
Week 23 : Parable of the Lost Sheep
St. Patrick's Day : Review
Week 24 : The Prodigal Son
Week 25 : Friends Take a Paralyzed Man to See Jesus
Week 26 : Judas Betrays Jesus
Week 27 : Jesus' Death and Resurrection
Easter : Review
Week 28: Cleansing of Sin
Butterflies : Review
Nursery Rhymes : Review
 

Scope and Sequence for Bible and Rhyme 
This is a 3 page sheet to show the full 38 week sequence for phonics, Bible, memory verses, nursery rhymes, math concepts, and science concepts at a glance.

Quick Reference Sheet - 
A list of Suggested Books to use with this curriculum for the entire year. Just print it out and take it to the library with you! 

Resource Books

Art:

  • Preschool Art: It's the Process Not the Product by Mary Ann Kohl. Gryphon House: 1994.  ISBN: 0876591683

Bible and Devotions:

  • The ABC Bible Storybook by Karen Ann Moore. Cook Communications: 2000.   ISBN 0781433908
  • Devotions for Little Boys and Girls: Old Testament by Joan C. Webb. Standard Publishing: 1992.  ISBN 087403681X
  • Devotions for Little Boys and Girls: New Testament by Joan C. Webb. Standard Publishing: 1992.  ISBN 0874036828
  • First and Favorite Bible Lessons for Preschoolers by Beth Rowland Wolf. Group Publishing: 1996.  ISBN 1559456140
  • The Rhyme Bible Storybook for Toddlers by LJ Sattgast. Zondervan: 1999. ISBN 0310700787
  • The Word and Song Children's Bible by Stephen Elkins.  Broadman/Holman: 2000. ISBN 0805430121

Cooking:

  • Incredible Edible Bible Fun: Making God's Word Memorable with Easy Recipes Children Can Do by Nanette Goings.  Group Publishing: 1997.  ISBN 0764420011

Math:

  • Count On Math: Activities for Small Hands and Lively Minds by Pam Schiiler and Lynne Peterson. Gryphon House: 1997. ISBN 0876591888

Nursery Rhymes:

  • Christian Mother Goose: Book of Nursery Rhymes by Marjorie Ainsborough Decker. Penguin Putnam Inc.: 2001. ISBN 0448425114

Phonemic Awareness:

  • Phonemic Awareness: Playing with Sounds to Strengthen Beginning Reading Skills by Jo Fitzpatrick. Creative Teaching Press: 1997.  ISBN 1574712344
  • Phonemic Awareness: Listening Activities to Develop Pre- Reading Skills by Hildi Kang.  Fearon Teacher Aids: 1997. ISBN 1564179443
  • Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success by Wiley Blevins. Scholastic: 1997.  ISBN 0590372319
  • Phonemic Awareness Songs and Rhymes by Kimberly Jordano and Trisha Calella-Jones.  Creative Teaching Press: 1998. (There are three books in this series– Fall, Winter, and Spring)

Science:

  • Science Arts: Discovering Science Through Art Experiences by Mary Ann Kohl. Bright Ring Publishing: 1993. ISBN 0935607048

Songs/Games/Movement:

  • Bible Learning Games: Reproducible Activities for Ages 2 and 3 by Mary Rose Pearson.  Rainbow Books: 2000.   ISBN 0937282723
  • Wee Sing Bible Songs (booklets and cassette) by Pamela Conn Beall and Susan Hagen Nipp. Price, Stern, Sloan: 2002. ISBN 0843177683
     

Music by Jim Gill

  • Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes
  • Jim Gill Makes It Noisy In Boise, Idaho
  • Jim Gill Sings Do Re Mi On His Toe Leg Knee

Music and Books by Raffi

  • Singable Songs for the Very Young
  • Rise and Shine

Music by Greg and Steve

  • We All Live Together, Volume 4

Other Resources

Brightly Beaming Resources - Preparatory Curriculum by Katrina Lybbert

Before Five in a Row by Jane Claire Lambert

Preschool Resources - from 1+1+1=1