Interest Center Checklist
(for almost any budget)
Hands-on Bible learning can occur at one table or at interest centers positioned throughout a room. Teachers who want to use hands-on learning in interest centers can refer to the checklist below for possible ways to equip different centers. Resourceful teachers can equip Sunday school rooms for enjoyable hands-on Bible learning on almost any budget. The items with asterisks (*) can be brought from home or made inexpensively.
Book Center
- Posters (Laminated photos* and art from outdated calendars make attractive homemade posters. Try to include some Christian "sight words" with some posters, likeBible,Jesus,God, andchurch.)
- Bible picture books (Use sturdy board books or vinyl books especially with 1s and 2s. For 3s, 4s, and 5s watch for books with textures or other special features.)
- Recorded books (Ask parents to tape record* some of the books you own. The children will enjoy hearing their parents' voices.)
- Children's Bibles (Try to find Bibles with colorful pictures. If possible, include some preschool picture Bibles.)
- Tape recorder (Use to play story tapes or soft praise music and to record children "reading" stories from pictures in books.)
- Pillows or cushions (Make the book center cozy.)
Block Center
- Blocks (Smooth, hardwood blocks in a variety of shapes are the most expensive but will provide years of durability. Less expensive options include blocks cut from foam rubber* or cardboard boxes* packed with newspapers and wrapped with ConTact paper.)
- Interlocking building sets (As a less expensive substitute or for variety, children will enjoy building with Legos, Duplos, and Lincoln Blocks.)
- Accessories (durable toy people, animals, cars, and trucks.)
- Storage (Store blocks on a shelf, in a cart, or in a box*.)
Home living Center
- Child-sized furniture (Children will also enjoy using foam rubber blocks* to "build" pretend furniture. Or set classroom chairs side-by-side and cover with small towels to make a "sofa."*)
- Child-sized appliances (Stove, refrigerator, ironing board, and phone. More affordable molded plastic appliances are sometimes grouped into one unit. Instructions for making cardboard appliances* are available from Sunday School Promotion and Training.)
- Dishes and tableware (Depending on your budget, use plastic or paper* plates. Avoid using tableware with children under 3. Consider using real, small pots and pans and cooking utensils.)
- Dolls, blankets, and beds. (Ask parents* to donate outgrown dolls, small baby clothes, and receiving blankets. Consider using a cardboard box* as a baby bed.)
- Dress-Up clothes (Costumes can be biblical or contemporary. Seamstresses in the church may be willing to make dress-up clothes to use in Sunday school.)
- Accessories (Periodically change the "home" into a grocery store, stable, beauty shop, or carpenter's shop. Bring accessories from home, like empty food containers, to add reality to the new setting.)
Manipulative Center
- Puzzles (Watch for animal, family, food, and helpers puzzles that can be used with many different Bible lessons. Wood, inlay puzzles are the most durable. Rubber puzzles are less expensive. You can make matching puzzles* from plastic place mats, old visuals, and clear ConTact paper. E-mail Sunday School Department for directions.)
- Play dough* and cutters (Homemade play dough* can be used in many Bible lessons. Watch for store and garage sales for cutters. Children also enjoy using plastic knives and small cups to cut play dough.)
- Sand* (Create bible time scenes with twigs, small rocks, paper tents, and mirrors or blue aquarium rocks. For about $1.00 you can fill a 5-gallon plastic tub with sand. Set the tub on a large terry cloth bath towel to catch any spilled sand. Base the use of the sand on the careful behavior of the children.)
- Water* (Use a 5-gallon tub of water, set on a large, terry cloth bath towel. Act out Bible stories. Accessories can include toy boats, bathtub animals, packing peanuts, and objects that float or sink.)
- Fit-Together hardware (Provide various lengths of PVC pipes and joints or nuts and bolts.)
Creation Center
- Rocks*, shells*, leaves*, wood*, plants*, seeds*, flowers*, small animals and insects* (Draw attention to the world God created by bringing in local samples of God's handiwork. Be alert to safety concerns and to allergies. Some ideas follow.)
- Magnifying glass or plastic reading sheet*
- Magnets*
Art Center
- Paper (Collect a variety of paper, such as typing paper, brown paper bags*, wallpaper samples*, butcher paper, poster board, tissue paper, construction paper, and aluminum foil.)
- Scissors (Look for scissors that open and close easily. Children can also tear* around pictures or shapes rather than cutting them.)
- Glue (For less mess use glue sticks or quarter-sized dabs of white glue in 3-ounce cups applied with cotton swabs*.)
- Beautiful junk (Save ribbon, pasta, buttons, scrap paper, and old jewelry, or craft leftovers to glue to collages and other projects.)
- Crayons, markers, chalk (Look for washable markers.)
- Paints and paint brushes (It's hard to make bright colors with small brushes and palettes. Instead use half-inch or inch wide brushes Tempera or watercolor blocks. As an inexpensive paper substitute,
- Smocks (Protect children's clothing with smocks, old shirts* worn backwards, or vinyl "ponchos" cut from inexpensive tablecloths*.)
- Sponges* (Cut lesson-related shapes to use for printing.)
- Easel (Look for a two-sided, folding easel, or make a tabletop easel* from two thicknesses of cardboard. Ask for directions from Sunday School Promotion and Training.)
- Drying line or rack* (Use clothesline and pinch clothespins or an umbrella style hanger used to dry hand washables.)
