Program
How Girls Learn through LifeSong
The LifeSong curriculum is structured to progressively provide girls with training that builds upon foundational material. Each meeting will begin with prayer time and worship followed by a lesson, activity, and discussion time.
Through hands-on training, the girls will learn that they can become scholars of the Bible who are confident in its understanding and application in their lives. Furthermore, the LifeSong program is designed to train girls to be Bereans in their approach to the Bible. By completing multiple levels in the curriculum, the girls gain progressively higher levels of knowledge of the Bible that are reinforced trough age-appropriate activities and materials.
Materials used during for the lessons include: Bibles, children’s books about Jesus, journals, worship music CDs, posters on dress and appearance, and DVD interviews with Godly women role models. In addition to achieving the main goals of the program, all materials are selected to teach the girls about the importance of reading Christian books, listening to Christian music, and watching Christian movies. To spark an enthusiasm for Christian literature, an age-appropriate novel is assigned and discussed in related lessons.
How Girls Fellowship through LifeSong
The LifeSong curriculum provides girls with an opportunity to interact with Godly women from their local church in a small-group setting. The fellowship activities provide fun and dynamic ways to learn about God’s Word and to discern between God’s Truth and the messages of the world. The program also provides for positive feedback and recognition of the girl’s accomplishments so that they acquire confidence in what they have learned.
The LifeSong Community also provides both girls and leaders the opportunity to participate in forums with other participants either in their local church alone, or with participating churches worldwide. The choice is up to the Group Leaders and parents. LifeSong monitors all forums. Required logins and passwords assigned by LifeSong prevent unauthorized usage.
How the Program Works
Local churches register with LifeSong and obtain Curriculum Fact Sheets to promote interest in the program. Churches then identify Group Leaders and determine the number of girls participating in the program for the coming calendar year. LifeSong provides all the participant resources, teachers’ guides, and lesson materials. Additionally, training for all Group Leaders is provided by LifeSong in mid-January.
The curriculum is designed to begin in late January and end in late November or early December each year with a special graduation ceremony at the conclusion of the year. This allows the girls to participate in a graduation ceremony that is timed so as not to coincide with other graduation events.
The curriculum is designed to provide 16 classes between late January and May (one per week with a week off for Spring Break) and then 14 classes between August and November. There are a total of 30 lessons for the year, each lasting approximately 1.5 hours. Girls that participate in the program one year may continue to participate in future years by advancing through progressively higher levels of the curriculum.
How Group Leaders Lead
LifeSong provides Group Leaders with comprehensive training and materials to ensure that they are well prepared to lead the girls. Group Leaders are equipped through training materials, training events, and on-line resources. Group Leaders are then responsible for following lesson guides and leading the girls as outlined through the activities for each class. Before beginning, all Group Leaders must complete an application form, participate in a live training session, and fulfill a training manual course.
In addition to the time spent teaching the girls during the year, Group Leaders should anticipate allowing time to complete the application form, participate in the live training session in mid-January, and fulfill the training manual course requirements.
Group Leaders should be women of God who 1) feel committed to working with the girls; 2) agree with the goals of the program; 3) can serve as Godly role models for the girls; 4) complete the LifeSong training, and; 5) agree to serve for at least 1 year in the program.
How Local Programs are Organized
Ideally, girls should be placed in groups of 5 per Group Leader with a maximum of 10 girls per leader. These numbers are recommended as the ideal pairing ratio to offer the best opportunity for interaction and individual attention.
Depending on the number of girls participating in the program, the girls should be grouped according to age as follows:
Group 1 - ages 7 and 8
Group 2 – ages 9 and 10
Group 3 – ages 11 and 12
Alternatively, if fewer girls are participating, the girls may be grouped as follows:
Group 1 - ages 7, 8 and 9
Group 2 – ages 10, 11 and 12
Important Dates to Remember
Churches should register no later than January 4, 2008 to start the Spring semester on January 21, 2008.
Materials are shipped to be received by local churches January 7th -11th 2008.
Live Group Leader training takes place the week of January 14th -18th 2008.
The 1st lesson is conducted the week of January 21st 2008.
How Churches Can Opt for Flexibility
Each registered local church will have the ability to customize the program to meet their individual needs. Although complete curriculum usage is encouraged, a subset of materials and lessons may be selected in order to design the local program around other course offerings at the church.
Why Graduation is Important
A very special graduation ceremony will be conducted at the end of the year to recognize the girls for their achievements. The ceremonies involve Group Leaders, parents, and girls, and acknowledge the work, commitments, and accomplishments of the girls during the year. To facilitate this process, Group Leaders are asked to keep accurate attendance and activity participation records throughout the year to support the graduation ceremony acknowledgements.
