Guest: Elizabeth Urbanowicz; Strategies to train kids to take every thought captive for Christ
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Segment #1: Interview with Elizabeth Urbanowicz
Elizabeth is the founder of an organization called Foundation Worldview, which seeks to equip children with a Biblical worldview in the formative years while also equipping them to carefully evaluate every idea they encounter.
If you could talk to Christian parents, what would you say?
Two things: the importance of cultivating an environment that 1) welcomes questions and 2) fosters deep thinking
We (as adults) need to get better at asking questions and teaching children to think well, so that they are the ones thinking through these big issues and verbalizing the answers. Whoever does the majority of the talking in a conversation, usually does a majority of the thinking!
Foundation Worldview Curriculum:
Year 1 (ages 8-12 yrs): Focuses on understanding Christianity as an entire worldview and understanding the different influences coming my way daily. Topics include the worldview questions: What is Truth?, What should I worship?, How did life begin?, Who am I?, and How can I tell right from wrong? Students explore the topics, dive into Scripture, and compare the Biblical worldview with 4 other competing worldviews.
Year 2 (ages 9-13): Once kids have been introduced to the basics of a Biblical worldview, we train them to systematically evaluate the truthfulness of ideas. There's a review of the concept of Truth and then we look at the concept of thinking carefully. Then, we systemically take the kids through examining an idea and looking at it logically, and being able to identify any mistakes (e.g., self-refuting statements, looking for evidence). We also focus on teaching kids how to listen well, how to ask good questions, and how to communicate the truth in love.
What about parents who have doubts? Can my child actually do this?
First, the stated age-ranges are helpful for determining your child's readiness for the curriculum. Second, we want to challenge kids and give them rigorous opportunities for learning. Also, we use concrete/tangible examples to help kids understand concepts such as truth, knowledge, and critical thinking and they're able to grasp it.
Elizabeth's curriculum is based on educational research, such as repeating concepts multiple times, presenting goals for the lesson prior to diving in to the materials, and end-of-unit assessments to evaluate success/comprehension of the material.
There are several options available based on the setting in which the curriculum will be taught: church subscriptions, Christian school subscriptions, and family subscriptions. The content is the same in each format, but may include additional materials depending on the environment it's taught in (For example, church/school setting has "home connection" activities to help incorporate parents).
The bottom line: This curriculum fits in to any and all settings!
Go check out the Foundation Worldview Curriculum and find out which subscription is right for the kids in your life.
Resources:
Check out our previous show from a couple years ago when Elizabeth was a guest!
Elizabeth is one of our resources on the CFBU "Friends" page! Go check out who our other friends are!
Connect with the guest
Connect with Elizabeth on her website or social media:
Email: info@foundationworldview.com
Segment #2: Announcements, Curriculum, and Sponsors!
Check out the CFBU Family Meeting from earlier this week. Monique and our friend, Edwin Ramirez, had a thoughtful discussion regarding a recent sermon given by Pastor Eric Mason. Check out the video:
Krista did a livestream this week entitled "Christian Parenting in the Age of 'Woke' Culture." This is a difficult topic, but Krista has received a lot of positive feedback on her teaching. Find it here.
Our small group curriculum is ready for pre-order!
Topics include: What is the ministry of reconciliation?, Identity, Unity, and MORE!
THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who are making this curriculum possible to get out into the world!
Our challenge: who will you invite to do the study with you?
Resources
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