As I write this post, many clubs are about one quarter of the way through their club year. We are beginning to see which clubbers will do well and which ones may not complete a handbook this year at the pace they are currently progressing. We seek to have parents work with the child at home but often they are busy themselves and though they want to help their child, time is not always on their side. They may wish that they had a tool to help them. For Sparks, there is an app for that.
Three years ago, I was introduced to an app to help Sparks work through their handbooks and memorize the verses included. At that time, the app was only available for iOS systems, and I am an Android user. I was able to briefly see the app back in 2015 and write a review (you can read that here). The apps were recently released for Android and so I have had more time to play and explore.
The children in your Sparks program are familiar with technology. They grew up having their pictures taken with smart phones and they’ve learned to navigate apps well. Using an app during club, or showing the family the app to use at home, are great ways to incorporate technology in your club to help them learn God’s Word.
The app to help you memorize verses has several ways to help a child learn. The verse is put to music, read for the child to listen, and allows the child to record themselves saying the verse with the ability to play it back. There are several different learning techniques to help them learn the verse, like taking away one or more words at a time to help them complete the verse. “Chunking the verse” providing one phrase at a time in chunks to help them learn. The child can use the app on their own to help them learn the verses. A companion app provides different games to help re-enforce the memorization.
These apps are available for iOS and in the Google Play Store, simply search for “Awana77” to find the apps for each Sparks handbook (HangGlider, WingRunner, and SkyStormer) to help your child/clubber memorize God’s Word.
Available app titles:
- Memory-HG
- Shuffle-HG
- Memory-WR
- Shuffle-WR
- Memory-SS
- Shuffle-SS
Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AwanaBattleGearApps/
Click here for information about the apps
Embrace the technology that the children are using to help them learn the Word of God!
