Impossible to Possible: Shortened Verses in Cubbies

Are you ready for a silly analogy? Recently, I started teaching myself to play the ukulele. After giving up years ago at being able to play the guitar, a six-stringed instrument, I wanted to try a less-intimidating four-stringed instrument. And you know what? It made a big difference! What made this possible? I think it can be attributed to the fact that there are two fewer strings to deal with. By making it less complicated, it changed from something that felt impossible to something possible.

There are shortened verses!

Did you know there are shortened verses in Cubbies? When you look at a verse in an Awana Cubbies handbook, you will occasionally see a verse where part of the verse is in bold, and the rest is in plain text. These are verses that are slightly longer or more complex, and the bold words are considered the “shortened” version of the verse and are also ok for a child to memorize.

Preschoolers are all uniquely capable

Young children range in development and ability so widely at this preschool age — some don’t know any letters, and some are able to read a bit. Some of them have shorter attention spans for tasks than others, and some might be so painstakingly precise that a complicated task intimidates them. Because young children are so varied, the Cubbies shortened verses give kids (and their parents) a chance to work on memorizing verses in a way that feels more possible.

Make sure parents are in the know

If you are a leader in your group, include a little something in your next communication to parents that reminds them that there are shorted verses in the handbook and that they can choose those too if they feel that it is a better fit for their child. You may cause a few sighs of parental relief!

What is the Cubbies verse count?

How many verses are there in Cubbies? So glad you asked! Below is a list of all the verses by resources so that you can see how many your Cubbies are memorizing.

Cubbies Verse Count

Unique verses memorized
All Cubbies Materials   49
Apple Acres Entrance Booklet   1
AppleSeed Handbook   24
HoneyComb Handbook   24

Total verses recited, including review
All Cubbies Materials   85
Apple Acres Entrance Booklet   1
AppleSeed Handbook   42
HoneyComb Handbook   42

Kids in Cubbies work hard

What’s clear from looking at all of this is that our Cubbies work hard to memorize verses, and they deserve a ton of affirmation from us as their leaders.  Make a big deal of them when they get a verse memorized, and gush to their parents about their progress!