Rooted Junior Resource for kids age 8-11 by SU review by Becky Lawrence, Youth and Kids worker at St Mark’s MK and founder Youthwork+

Rooted Junior is adapted from Scripture Unions Rooted resource which was orginailly written for teenagers.  This new version for younger kids is completely rewritten with the same perspective – its a christian resource which is suitable for children who are part of church and not yet part of church or those with faith and those who don’t have their own faith yet.   It is very accessible, engaging and fun and can be used in a wide variety of contexts – kids church, sunday school, kids clubs, school based lunch or after school clubs and more.

There are various resources under the Rooted Junior theme, a leaders guide, kids journals and Rooted Junior Hub (icebreaker conversation) cards.  I’ll unpack each of them for you.

Designed for use in a Rooted Junior Hub context, our Rooted Junior Hub Cards are a fantastic tool that will help you to open up conversation with almost any child you meet. The Rooted Junior Hub Cards enable you to begin to connect with children as they start to think about who they are, why they matter and the difference Jesus can make in their lives.

Rooted Junior Hub Cards include questions on the following themes:

• -General questions about everyday life and the world around us
• -Faith-based questions for those with little or no faith
• -Wellbeing questions exploring feelings and emotions
• -Choices questions, opening up conversations about making healthy choices

 

Rooted Junior Leaders guide features 10 session outlines for you to lead for 8-11 year olds, there is more material and activities than you need so you can pick and choose what will work well with your group.

The Rooted Junior Journal is spiral-bound, and is packed with activities and themes to help children explore issues such as identity, self-worth, wellbeing and keeping healthy. It is creative, reflective and fully interactive.  The Rooted Junior Journal can be used in conjunction with the sessions outlined in the Rooted Junior Leaders’ Guide and can also work independently in a small-group or individual context.

 

I haven’t used this resource set yet with my group but I have used the original Rooted resource with my youth group and really found it engaged them and was easy to lead.

 

Here’s what SU have to say about it,

“Rooted Junior offers a new and different approach to children’s ministry by creating space for children aged 8 to 11 to explore who they are, why they matter and the difference Jesus can make. Rooted Junior provides strong foundations for the nurture of lifelong, authentic faith.

The 64-page Leaders Guide resource book includes:

• Questions to consider before embarking on your Rooted Junior journey.
• Outlines for ten sessions to help you structure and plan your Rooted Junior journey with a group of children.
• Sessions exploring themes such as identity, self-worth and dreaming big.
• Activities that give space for children to reflect and dig deeper into their faith journey.
• Extra tips to help each session run smoothly.
• Advice on how to connect with children in your community, and plenty of ideas for developing a Rooted Junior Hub, too.

And, after these sessions, Rooted Junior doesn’t stop – in fact, they’re just the beginning!

Rooted Junior is adaptable, accessible, invitational and creative. The Rooted Junior material places the child at the centre. It seeks to provide space for that child to grow, flourish and be nurtured in a safe, committed and compassionate Christian community. Rooted Junior aims to unlock potential in each child, enabling them to be the very best version of themselves, helping them to become all that God intended them to be. ”

 

You can buy this resource from Scripture Union or access samples of the material for free if you aren’t sure if this is for you.

Rooted Junior leaders guide is £15 https://content.scriptureunion.org.uk/resource/rooted-junior-leaders-guide

Rooted Junior journals 5 pack is £15 https://content.scriptureunion.org.uk/resource/rooted-junior-journal-pack-5

Rooted Junior Hub cards (icebreaker conversation cards) are £7.50 https://content.scriptureunion.org.uk/resource/rooted-junior-hub-cards