The Family Ministries Department of the Singapore Conference of Seventh-day Adventists joined hands with Hope Channel Singapore to develop a new TV series for children titled Creatures Teach Us.
The fun series is for the whole family, producers said. “Each episode takes parents and children on an adventure with six different animals found in Singapore. [Viewers] can learn character traits such as loyalty, empathy, and teamwork, contextualized perspectives, prosocial choices, and other positive values in their Christian character-building process,” they said.
Objective and Target Group
The key focus of Creatures Teach Us is to empower children up to 7 years old and make disciples of them to serve God. It also seeks to inspire parents and other viewers to notice God’s handiwork and His character being revealed continually. Kids learn to notice and look for character traits in creatures, leading to a renewed sense of appreciation and worship to the Creator, producers said.
There is an excellent pool of talent in the church membership, including children, producers said. “Creatures Teach Us gives opportunities for kids to shine for Jesus as their diverse talents are being maximized to their fullest potential,” they said.
The Nature of Creatures Teach Us
The program is contextualized for the Singapore landscape, producers said. It also answers the need of parents looking for useful but entertaining content that could occupy their young kids’ free time and powerfully reinforces the morals they value through media platforms. “Creatures Teach Us offers children a localized lens through which they can gain an understanding of positive values, contextualize perspectives, and make prosocial choices. Through the series, kids in Singapore are being empowered and disciplined,” producers said.
Eighteen children participated in the series. Three sets of kids aged 4 to 11 appeared in each of the six episodes. “We had to adapt the original format to meet the requirements for safe management measures on set when filming under COVID-19 restrictions,” producers shared. “Parents were invaluable in helping the children memorize their lines and in practicing delivering them naturally and engagingly.”
More to Offer
The Creatures Teach Us series goes beyond video, producers said. It offers family-friendly educational entertainment and activities that support Family and Children’s Ministries. The episodes include a free downloadable family fun pack, parenting articles, and printable files.
Each family fun pack contains a family worship template, coloring pages, and a word search puzzle. Each week, parents can read articles that provide helpful tips on how to boost a specific character trait. In the case of “Saving,” for instance, the articles are titled “Playful Ways to Teach Children about Money” and “Pocket Money in Simple Steps.” Parents can also access printable materials such as “Genius-building experiences for children” and “Age-appropriate chores.”
Every episode is four to five minutes long. The series was launched on October 8, 2021, and new episodes are released each week on YouTube, Facebook, and Hope Channel Singapore.
The original version of this story was posted on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division news site.
