Welcome to the Church School at St. Francis!

Our church school program uses the "Workshop Rotation Model" to teach children about the love of God through kid-friendly workshops incorporating art, drama, music, games, puppetry, storytelling, cooking and mission/outreach projects. Our lessons are lectionary- based, using Bible stories from the Revised Common Lectionary read during worship services each week.


The program is available on Sunday mornings for children who are in preschool (age 3 by September 1st) through grade 5. Classes begin at 9:45. At 10:45, children return to the service to participate in the Eucharist. Susan Bastardo, a member of the staff at St. Francis, is the Church School Coordinator. Members of our community volunteer to teach or assist in classrooms.  If you would like to volunteer please fill out a Volunteers form, or speak to Susan Bastardo.


Nursery care is available for younger children during the 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday mornings.

To register for Church School please complete a Registration form , or fill out one of the forms available at the Church office. You can also reach Susan Bastardo, Church School Coordinator, at (508) 829-3344 x229.

Fall Start Up Schedule
Aug. 29: Registration begins
Sept. 12: Church School classes begin



Family Connections

Unit 1 Summary: September 12 - October 17, 2010

Preschool through Grade 1


Sept. 12-26: Part of God's Creation
Key verse: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
Biblical text: Genesis 1:1-2:24
Learning objectives:

  • The Bible is a book of stories about experiences with God.
  • God created and loves us
  • God is present in all Creation.
  • God created the world and all of the creatures in the world.

Oct. 3: St. Francis
Learning objectives: Children will learn some of the animal stories associated with St. Francis and will prepare posters to go with their stories.

Oct. 10-17: Noah's Ark

Key verse: "My covenant is between me and you and every living thing with you. It is a covenant for all time to come. Here is the sign of the covenant I am making. I have put my rainbow in the clouds. It will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth." Genesis 9:12-13

Biblical text: Genesis Chapters 6-9

Learning objectives: Noah was obedient to God and God took care of Noah, his family and all the pairs of animals.

2nd through 5th Grade


Sept. 12: Bible Study Skills
Learning objectives: Students will begin to learn how to find texts in their Bibles

Sept. 10-26: Adam and Eve

Key verse: "Happy are those who trust in the Lord." Proverbs 16:20b

Biblical text: Genesis 3

Learning objectives:

  • There are many things in this world that we do not have control over. But God does! We can trust in God's plan for the unity of all creation.
  • When we are disobedient, there are consequences for us and sometimes for others. These consequences include loss of privilege and feeling separated from loved ones.

Oct. 3: St. Francis
Learning objectives: Children will learn some of the animal stories associated with St. Francis and will prepare posters to go with their stories.

Oct. 10-17: Cain and Abel
Key verse: "Love one another as I have loved you." John 13:34

Biblical text: Genesis 4

Learning objectives:

  • We bring offerings to God to show thankfulness for all God has done for us and all we've been given.
  • We should always give God our best.
  • We should guard our hearts against jealousy and anger since it is harmful to us and to others.

Additional Objectives

By second grade, students are given their own Bibles. This is their textbook! They should bring their Bibles to Church School with them each week. The following information and skills will be integrated into their lessons:

  • The Bible is really a collection of books - like a library. At the back of the children's Bibles, there is a section called "Special Reader's Helps." It contains a diagram that shows the books of the Bible arranged like books on a shelf and grouped into categories. There is also a section called "What's in the Bible" that provides a brief summary of every book.
  • The Old Testament is the first part of the Christian Bible, corresponding to the Hebrew Bible. It recounts the creation of the world and the history of ancient Israel and contains the Psalms and the prophetic books. The New Testament begins with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). These books tell us about Jesus' life and teachings. The book of Acts tells of the movement of the early church. The New Testament also includes many letters (or Epistles) written to guide and encourage the church. The children should be able to confidently distinguish between Old and New Testament texts.
  • This fall, the children will be learning a song that will help them to recall the names of the books of the Old Testament.
  • The children will also be taught how to locate texts in the Bible. Once they locate a book by name (using the Table of Contents), they will be taught to look for the larger numbers to find the chapters, and the smaller numbers to find the verse. They will learn, for example, that "Ruth 1:16" means "the book of Ruth, chapter one, verse 16."


Sample Lessons

The following are provided in PDF format, which requires the free software Adobe Acrobat Reader.

» Transfiguration: Drama/Art
» The Rich Man (Fool): Treasure Chests
» Object Lesson: The Builder (Music - Choose Wise)
» Born Again: Puppets, Question books
» Go Where I Send Thee (song), click here to listen to Roger McQuinn sing