Curriculum Review - Special Needs - Special Buddies from LifeWay!

Special Buddies is a Non-Traditional Sunday School curriculum from LifeWay which is designed to be a, "Sunday School curriculum resource for special kids with special needs." Allow me to share with you some information about Special Buddies!

• Publisher - LifeWay 
• Website -  http://www.lifeway.com/Keyword/special+buddies
• Price - $5.25 per teacher, $2.95 per child per quarter
• Scope - Through the bible
• Available for Grades 1-6

Strengths -

• Biblically Sound
• Variety of options included for each lesson to engage children in thinking about the "point" of the Bible lesson
• I'm very happy to see ideas to encourage children to serve in their church! Love this!
• Parent tips on the student resources are excellent
• See It, Hear It and Do it activities throughout!
• Each lesson is taught for two weeks to utilize repetition
• Ideas for ways to engage the children during the telling of the Bible lesson
• Teacher Devotions

Would like to see - 

• Optional Second Service - although there are enough "bonus" activities throughout the lesson, most churches will find there are enough materials to use for a second service.
• Live-It ideas for children to live what they learned at home

Special Buddies is one of the only curriculum resources specifically designed for children with special needs. I'm delighted to say LifeWay did an excellent job with this curriculum! I especially like their approach, as they say it,  "Special Buddies uses a multisensory approach to Bible study." Special Buddies utilizes, "See It, Hear It, and Do It activities" to make the most of every activity and fully engage these special students. Please read the review on the inclusive church, written by Amy Fenton Lee as she provides a very complete evaluation of this resource. If you are looking for a curriculum designed specifically for children with special needs, this curriculum is well worth taking a look at to see if it may be a good "fit" for your ministry! LifeWay says, "Now you can provide your kids in grades 1-6 who have special needs with biblically sound curriculum which is tailored just for them! You'll find Special Buddies works great for self-contained special education classes or for individualized teaching for students enrolled in your regular Sunday morning classes."