Each lesson plan is broken down into sections.  Review the information below to best understand the lesson plans.

Items Needed:  Here is a list of items needed for the lesson.  These are items to have gathered and printed off before beginning the week.  Basic items like pens and pencils are not listed.  

Character Trait:  After reading the book Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp, I saw the need to discipline at the heart.  When creating the 4 Year Old Curriculum, I wanted to focus on the Fruit of the Spirit and character trait words that we use during discipline in our home.  Activities are listed under the "Ideas" section to help reinforce the character trait.   Definitions are also provided for each trait. 

Bible Story:  The Bible stories are chosen to correspond with the character trait showing either positive or negative examples.  Week 35 ties the lessons together by introducing the Wordless Book.  Included is the biblical reference as well as page numbers listed for three preschool Bibles and Betty Luken's Through the Bible in Felt.  ABCJLM contains a list of ideas on how to tell Bible stories to children. 

Verse:  The Bible verse reinforces the Bible story.  Almost every verse is set to song on the Hide 'Em in Your Heart CDs by Steve Green or set to a familiar tune.  Depending on the child's ability, shorten the verses as needed.  Be sure to print off the 4 Year Curriculum Memory Cards.  Click for ABCJLM ideas for Learning Memory Verses.

Bible Song:  These are traditional "Sunday School" songs.  Almost every song is on the CDs 100 Hymns and Praise Songs for Kids or The Ultimate Bible Song Collection.  The rest of the songs can be found on YouTube which are linked for you.  It is best to learn the song yourself and then teach the child the song in slow, small sections.  Use the CD once the song is learned.  Click for ABCJLM Ideas for teaching songs. 

Information:   This section of the lesson plan helps the child learn important information about himself/herself.  Starting with writing his/her name, the child learns his/her address, phone number, and how to dial 911. 

Books of the Bible:  In order to study the Bible, I believe everyone should know the order of the books of the Bible.   With a little help, most preschool children can master this task.  The New Testament books have been divided into small group with a new group being introduced every 3-4 weeks in the curriculum.  Use a song, motions, or simply repetition to help your child.  Click for more ABCJLM Teaching the Book of the Bible Ideas.

Math:  Colors, shapes, spatial concepts, sorting, opposites, season, sequencing, patterns and tying shoelaces are introduced in the lesson plans.  Ideas to teach these concepts are included in the "Ideas" section.  Keep this portion of learning fun and active.  Click for more ABCJLM Math Ideas.

Letter and Number:  Unlike in the 3 Year Old Curriculum, the focus of the 4 Year Old Curriculum is on writing the numbers 1-25 and upper and lowercase letters.  The phonetic sound of each letter is further solidified as well.  The order of the letters and numbers is based upon the Letter Progression Worksheets that I created for our son while he struggled to learn how to write the letters.  The letters and numbers are grouped by formation - starting with straight line letters first.  In each week's lesson, there is a group of letters that are formed in a similar way.  Work on writing these letters.  Most lessons also includes a "both" letter set.  This means that the child has learned how to write both the uppercase and lowercase of the letter.  Use this time to do the Letter of the Week Activities, Letter Posters, and Number Posters under the "Items Needed" section.  I have created ABCJLM worksheets for both numbers and letters.  You can read about my suggestions of worksheet use and view the letter and number worksheets.  View more options on the home page under "Tracing Worksheets".  The My First Steps to Reading and the My First Steps to Math books are suggested as well.  Be sure to use the Number Rhymes and Letter Formation Chants to aid in learning.

Comprehension Questions:  These questions are provided to help pull out the main points of the lesson.  Each children's Bible is going to emphasize different areas of the stories.  Use the questions that are appropriate to the learning and are at the level of your child's understanding. 

Book of the Week:  The research is unanimous - children should be read to and read to often. The 4 Year Curriculum along with the 3 Year Curriculum includes a "Book of the Week." This list includes books that are a little bit longer and require more vocabulary maturity than the 3 Year list.  When you are finished with the curriculum, your child will have been introduced to 28 of the top children's books according to ABCJLM users and our family. Be sure to check out the ABCJLM Reading suggestions for other titles and authors.

Ideas:  Included in this section are ideas to reinforce the concepts learned this week.  This list starts with Book of the Week Ideas and Bible story activities and color sheets.  Remember that supplies needed for these activities are not included in the "Items Needed" section.  All other supplies are listed.  This is not an exhaustive list nor is it mandatory.  Pick and choose what is appropriate for your situation.    

Fine and Gross Motor Skills:  Each week contains an activity to help improve fine & gross motor skills. 

Visual Perception Skills:  The skills worked on in this section help the eyes and the brain work together correctly.  These activities help the brain properly translate what the eyes are seeing.  The Visual Perception Worksheets can be ordered in print form to save you the time of printing each of them.

Review Weeks

On average, every fourth week is a review week.  These weeks typically match up with holidays.  Use these weeks to review concepts learned so far, do activities that time didn't allow to cover, or focus on a concept with which your child is struggling.  Review weeks contain their own fine and gross motor skill activity.