Curriculum Review: Group's Buzz (first reaction)

I've been excited to check out Buzz, a new Sunday School curriculum for elementary kids, for some time now. I was very happy when the Crime and Punishment series for 3rd and 4th graders came to my office today. I quickly opened it up. Below are my first reactions to the curriculum after spending about an hour reading, playing, and messing around with it. I know that an hour is not very long with a curriculum and that is why I am calling this my first reactions. With respect though, I don't give most curriculum that much time in review.

Here is what Group says Buzz (quoted from FAQ's at Group.com/buzz):

Group’s Buzz curriculum is an entirely new way to teach children the timeless truths of the Bible—a way that excites and engages kids. And that delights leaders!
We’ve designed Buzz for Sunday school, but its fl exibility makes Buzz a great choice for children’s church…midweek…anytime you want kids discovering and applying Bible truth!

If you want to see all of their FAQ's go here.

(Full Disclosure: I bought this curriculum. It was not free. I am not being paid to write a review. This is just my opinion. Enjoy)
Overall Reations

Series, Crime and Punishment- not big on the title. Don't think 3rd and 4th graders will want to dive in and learn about it.

The packaging- clever with nice graphics. Looks like a part of a honeycomb. Looks like a board game.

The tag line- If it's in the lesson, it's in the box. - nice concept. I'm glad I don't have to go gather all of the supplies. Not the first time Group has done this and it is a nice feature.

Quick Start Guide- Liked it . Without it I wouldn't have a clue what to do. Easy to read and easy to follow.

Promotional Piece- It's the biggest thing in the box. Everything else is cut down from a standard piece of paper except this piece. I know you want me to buy other stuff but make this smaller. It just felt misplaced.

5 colored spinners for opening activity and Bible Time- nice feel. spins well. most kids will be able to use these and be successful.

CD- I've always had a hard time with the production quality of what Group does. The songs on the CD are kids singing to "eletrofied" soundtracks. It's a philosophy difference that I have with them. They didn't change theirs on this CD and I haven't changed mine yet. The stories and such on the CD are not great production quality either. They are good just not great. It always seems like they are doing recordings in a closet down the hall instead of in a studio or the mix is just a little bit off or something. Might be a little harsh but they can do better here.

Journal for Leaders- Read the first 2 in the book. Very good. Short and sweet and to the point. Not to much for any volunteer.

Opening Activity Cards- Good idea. Great questions. I don't know if 5 cards are going to last 13 weeks though. They don't feel like they will hold up over time with 3rd-4th grade boys.

Bible Buzz Cards (The lesson)- Nice graphics. Nice size. I didn't like that I had to tear them out of the book. I felt like I was going to rip the pages even though they are perferatted. The material on the cards are very good. Great activities to get the kids moving, thinking, and doing. Nice uses of different learning styles. Good reinforcement of the main point of the lesson. The great advancement here is that the kids get to pick the cards and decide what they want to do. It gives them ownership, something most curriculums don't even try. That is a nice change of pace.

Application Dice- Nice idea. Again giving ownership to the kids on how they are going to apply the lesson of the day. Didn't like that I rolled sports on both dice at the same time the first time I rolled though. Just felt awkward.

Prayer Tangle and Time piece- The Tangle toy was very creative and confusing all at the same time. Here is a picture taken from TangleToys.com.


You are suppose to have the kids tangle up the toy and then untangle the toy as long as the timer goes. The problem is my assistant couldn't figure out how to tangle it back up. It took me about 3 minutes to figure it out. Once you figure it out it isn't that bad but I don't think the new kid at church is going to like this activity very well. Especially when the other kids who know how make fun of them because they know how to do it. Just saying...

Faith Buzz at Home- I like the key chain idea. A nice way to collect what you have learned over the series. The cards themselves are short and sweet. Not a lot of info or activities to do because of size but I think a great reminder for the kids.

Final thoughts and observations: Overall I like the idea that the kids don't know what's coming. They don't know what game, activity, or response time is coming. That point alone gives them or makes them feel like their is ownership and excitement. I really like this. For some reason though, the first use of this curriculum that came to mind was not Sunday School. In fact the thing that I would do with this curriculum is give it to a small group of parents who is looking for something for their kids while they do small group. Instead of babysitting the person watching the kids could easily pick this up and play/learn with the kids. Because it takes little to no training on how to do. The other thing that I thought was that it could be a great family game for parents wanting to talk about spiritual things. I don't think that either one of those is bad. In fact, I think there needs to be a lot more of that kind of stuff out to chose from. Group may have developed something for the family during the week by accident but I think it would fit very well. I would use it with my family if my kids weren't 2 and 4 right now.

So what are your thoughts? Have you seen this curriculum yet? Do you think I'm way off base? Do you think it would be a good family piece instead of a Sunday School piece?