Date: June 14, 2026
Elementary Essential: God is relational: We are made to be in relationship with him and with each other.
Unit Overview:
Not only are books a way to connect and build community, but they can also teach us, help us understand emotion, and give us perspectives that may be different than our own. Echoes of Eden is a curriculum written by Crossing Kids that uses popular children’s picture books and helps pull in concepts of the Gospel, or “Echoes of Eden.”
In this unit, kids will examine how the Gospel helps us to make sense of all of life—including art in the words and illustrations of great books. Together we will search for places where the beauty of the Gospel intersects and points to the greatest story of all and discover how to engage with our culture in winsome ways. Each week kids will read a book and hunt for Gospel truths within while focusing on one key verse connected to the literature. They’ll do an activity (ex. craft, game, science experiment) to help them have a tangible reminder of what they just learned.
Lesson Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Lesson Overview:
An evil queen cares about only one thing—that she was fairest of all. When she learns that Snow White's beauty is greater, she sets out to destroy the girl. It is then that Snow White finds herself lost. Then, she finds her way to seven little men who change her life forever. They grow to love her as she does them. When the Queen returns and all seems lost, love saves the day once more. Even in death, the prince can rescue Snow White. Kids will create a picture of Jesus as their rescuer using the medium of oil pastels.
Lesson Scripture: Ephesians 2:13
Lesson Objective: Identify that Jesus is the only one who can rescue us from sin.
Lesson Application: When we believe in Jesus, he raises us to life when we are dead in our sin.
Date: June 14, 2026
Unit: The Lord’s Prayer: Teach Us to Pray
Elementary Essential: God is relational: He invites us to talk to him through prayer.
Unit Overview:
Jesus’s friends and followers asked Jesus how to pray. He gave them the Lord’s Prayer as a model. Jesus gave this prayer for his followers then, but also for his followers today. Throughout the summer, children will learn that prayer is talking with and listening to God. They will explore what prayer is, how to pray, and work to memorize The Lord’s Prayer. Each week will unpack a phrase of this famous prayer in hopes that children will understand why Jesus uses this as a model prayer to teach us how to pray to God.
Lesson Title: Our Father
Lesson Overview:
This week we’ll focus on the phrase: Our Father. We’ll discuss what it means that we can talk to God as our father. We will read the story of the Prodigal Son, which gives us a glimpse of what God is like and how we can come to him. Children will also create prodigal son hugs out of paper. This will be a reminder of God’s invitation to call him our father and to come to him knowing that his arms are open wide to us.
Lesson Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 15
Lesson Objective: Children will understand that God the Father welcomes us with open arms.
Lesson Application: No matter how much I sin or mess up, I can always talk to God.
Date: June 14, 2026
Unit: Questions Jesus Asked
Elementary Essential: God is relational: He is compassionate and sees, hears, cares, and responds when his children are in need.
Unit Overview:
In this 13-week unit, 4th and 5th graders will spend their time looking at some of the questions Jesus asked real people in the New Testament. Each week, students will explore a question and the context surrounding it. They will discover that Jesus did not ask questions to learn the answer but rather to help us learn more about him.
Students will explore the life and ministry of Jesus, and most importantly, they will learn about Jesus who sees us, hears us, and loves us. Students will discover that far more than our outward actions, Jesus cares about the desires of our hearts and invites us into a relationship with him.
Each lesson will be rooted in building a greater understanding of how the entire Bible points to Jesus’ work on the cross. All of Jesus’ encounters with people were built around pointing them toward the good news of his death and resurrection and how that brought us into a reconciled relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Lesson Title: Why Are You Arguing?
Lesson Overview:
Students will look at the question Jesus asked the disciples after they had been arguing with one another on the way to Capernaum. Jesus already knew the answer but wanted them to articulate it so they could understand the neediness of their hearts. Students will also play a birthday lineup game with the added challenge of not using any words.
Lesson Scripture: Mark 9:33-35
Lesson Objective: Students will recognize that Jesus is their source of identity and security.
Lesson Application: I can ask God to help me remember his love for me when I feel insecure and to help me find power and my joy in following him.