The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy (Art. XX, Sect. 2) provides that "the Sabbath School children shall be taught the Scriptures, and they shall be instructed according to their understanding or ability to grasp the simpler meanings of the divine Principle that they are taught."

This provision is not restricted to any particular age level; hence we may understand that it applies to pupils of all ages and therefore that the teaching throughout the Sunday School should be kept within "the simpler meanings" of divine Principle. This, however, does not mean that the teaching is to be circumscribed or repetitious. Rather does it point to strong foundational instruction, instruction that gives the child a correct and inspirational basis for all thinking and acting, a foundation that will stand the test of any human experience. The structure that weathers the storm is the one with strong foundational support, as Dryden implied when he wrote:

Pupils who are well grounded in the Sunday School lessons will not fall away from them either in sunshine or in storm. If we find that sometimes children temporarily depart from the teachings, we may well ask ourselves, how thoroughly are our pupils being trained m the lessons which Mrs. Eddy has provided for them? When teaching the First Commandment, are we pointing out the serious effects of turning away from the one true God, as indicated in the second commandment and as illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son and in the actual experiences of many of the characters of the Bible? And on the other hand, are they familiar with Biblical illustrations of the limitless blessings that accompany wholehearted allegiance to divine Principle as taught by Christ Jesus and set forth in the Beatitudes?

In some cases it has been noticed that pupils are less familiar with the Beatitudes than they are with the Commandments. Children not only need to learn obedience to divine law, but it is important that they recognize the blessings of obedience. They need to know of the achievements possible to those who adhere to the teachings of the Master. They need to know that in the proportion that they practice the Sunday School lessons they can meet every difficulty with the assurance of mastery. The Hebrew Lawgiver, according to the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, emphasized the blessings of obedience to the Commandments. Likewise our Leader, in the opening words of the Preface to her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. viii), heartens her readers with the glorious promise, "To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings." When through precept and practice and through acquaintance with Biblical characters and Biblical narratives children are convinced that the divine way is the only way to true and lasting success and happiness, they love the lessons and are enthusiastic about being in their places in Sunday School. Instead of finding the instruction monotonous or repetitious, they find that with each stage of experience they gain new views of the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God.

It has been said that the children's thought should be rooted and grounded in the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. To be thoroughly grounded in these lessons, pupils should not only be familiar with the letter of the passages, but should be so conscious of their meaning and so familiar with their use that when temptation presents itself, either in the form of sin or of sickness, they are able readily to detect its illusive nature and prepared promptly to reject it.

Mrs. Eddy, in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 110), tells the children that they need to watch and pray that in their contact with the world they preserve the childlike virtues unstained. And the Sunday School should teach them to do this. It is the duty of the Sunday School teacher to know whether the pupils understand the Lord's Prayer according to its spiritual interpretation by Mrs. Eddy, as given on pages 16 and 17 of Science and Health, to show them how to use this prayer in their daily activities, and to show them the progress and protection that its application ensures.

When the first lessons are taught in a practical way. the next lessons, as defined in the Church Manual —if taught in the same manner— become more and more lucid and practical. Teachers who give questions on the Lesson-Sermon as homework need to be sure that the assignments are not laborious, thus tending to deprive the child of his own individual unfoldment. The teacher may be sure that if the child's thought is securely planted in the simple, fundamental truths of Christian Science, his spiritual understanding will grow in grandeur and depth and his human experience will be a continuous unfoldment of good.