A gift to the church: Growing in Grace and Gratitude resources

Children’s curriculum offers free e-books, audio recordings and family activities in English and Spanish

by Meg Rift | Congregational Ministries Publishing

LOUISVILLE — The gift you didn’t know you were getting this year could be free e-books, audio Bible stories and family activities from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Growing in Grace and Gratitude children’s curriculum.

Each e-book includes a Bible story, a detailed lesson plan and printable activities that children can use at church and with their families at home. The curriculum is designed for ages 3–10. There are currently 52 free e-book stories available.

“The Growing in Grace & Gratitude e-book is like a Christmas stocking full of goodies to discover!” said managing editor Jeanne Williams, with the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. “The ePub version can be used with iBooks, iPad or iPhone, and the Kindle version can be used on tablets and smartphones.”

Children can listen to the stories, read by many different readers, while looking at the pictures, follow along with the written version or use their imagination as they listen to the audio files without imagery. Activities to accompany the stories are varied and “get the whole family involved,” Williams said.

Each week of the quarter includes a story picture, an audio story, a written story and Grace Sightings, which are activities to do at home. The audio recordings can be downloaded as MP3 files to play in the car from a smartphone or flash drive. All resources also are available in Spanish.

Grace Sightings — enjoyable activities to promote spiritual growth at home — include suggestions Recognizing God’s Word, Responding to God’s Word and Celebrating in Gratitude. For example, a “reverse Advent calendar,” encourages families to give nonperishable food or clothing items to a homeless shelter during Advent. Other activities include instructions for making an Advent wreath or a JOY banner to celebrate this season of rejoicing.

Download all stories and resources for the Winter 2017–18 quarter and enjoy Advent/Christmas stories and activities as you prepare for the coming of the Christ child. For Spanish, click on the “Spanish Site” button at the top right of the Grace and Gratitude children’s curriculum website.

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Growing in Grace & Gratitude
Free e-books, audio recordings and activities  
Intended for families to use at home, these free downloadable e-books share the same colorful illustrations and Bible stories used in weekly sessions at church. The e-books also include audio recordings of the stories and Grace Sightings activities.

Download English e-books and resources
Download Spanish e-books and resources