Teaching Kids – Page 2

Bible Study, Sunday School, Teaching Kids

March 4, 2019

Why Prepare? Is it really all that important?

In 1 Corinthians 14:40 we read, “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” I’m convinced that the time we have with kids at church should be fitting and orderly. That certainly includes Bible study. After all, if it’s worth doing (and teaching kids the Bible is definitely worth doing) then it’s worth doing right! Preparation is the key. Here are five reasons why weekly preparation is important and vital to your success.

Preparation allows you the opportunity to hear from God. I’ve often said that God wants to speak to the kids in your class from the overflow of what He’s teaching you in your heart. Spiritual and biblical preparation allows God to use your “comings and goings” to bring the biblical text you’re teaching to life. No prep equals no opportunity for God to teach you. You’ll teach better when you’ve prepared the biblical content and taken the time to pray and meditate on the passage you’re teaching. Then, you’ll be teaching from the overflow.
Preparation ensures that you’ll accomplish your goals. It’s been said, (and I agree), “If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t know if you get there.” Preparation helps you understand your session goals and gives you a path for which to teach toward and meet those goals.
Preparation says, “This is important.” We give time (or make time) for what we believe is important. What could be more important than teaching kids God’s story for them? We all live busy lives but giving prep time for your weekly Bible teaching needs to be a priority. Kids will notice, parents will notice, and you will notice.
Preparation cuts down on behavior problems. Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “A failure to plan is a plan to fail.” I would elaborate on that by saying a failure to plan almost always is a recipe for disaster. If you don’t have a plan, kids do… and it usually doesn’t include a biblical application.
Preparation reduces stress and allows you to sense the work of the Holy Spirit and join Him during your session. When you adequately prepare and are ready for the kids the minute they enter the room, you’ll be open and sensitive to the Holy Spirit at work around you. Often times God is at work around us but we’re too distracted by our lack of preparation to notice. Don’t miss the “still small voice” because you failed to prepare.

The best session is a prepared session. The best teacher is a prepared teacher. Be the best you can be. Offer to your kids the best you can give and they deserve. Practice the gift of preparation.

Here’s a prayer I dare you to pray: “Lord, bless me according to my preparation.”

Bill Emeott serves as Lead Ministry Specialist for Lifeway Kids. He is a graduate of Mercer University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Bill has served in Kids Ministry for almost 30 years and currently teaches 3rd Grade Bible study at his home church in Nashville, TN.

Crafts, Encouragement, Family Ministry, Kids Ministry, Ministry, Resources, Sunday School, Teaching Kids, Uncategorized, Volunteers

January 2, 2019

Scripture Animal Cut-Outs

By Heidi Brookens

Click below to download these fun Scripture reminders for your desk!

Scripture animal cut-outs

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Podcasts, Teaching Kids

December 6, 2018

4 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started in KidMin

By Chuck Peters

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Rhonda Van Cleave shares 4 things she wishes she knew when she began serving in kids ministry.

Rhonda Van Cleave is the Publishing Team Leader for Lifeway VBS. She was a writer for kids curriculum for Lifeway for 15 years prior to joining Lifeway full time. She has taught children over 40 years. Her husband is a pastor. They have two children and three grandchildren.

Christmas, Crafts, Encouragement, Encouraging, Family Ministry, Fun, Kids Ministry, Ministry, Preschool, Small Groups, Special Needs, Sunday School, Teacher Appreciation, Teaching Kids, Uncategorized, Volunteers

December 4, 2018

Volunteer Appreciation Resources

By Heidi Brookens

Looking for some fun gift ideas to show appreciation to your volunteers? We’ve got your covered! Click below to download some fun ideas.

Soapin’ you have a merry Christmas!

Just poppin’ in

Instructions

Bible Study, Resources, Sunday School, Teaching Kids

October 31, 2018

Packed with Value

By William Summey

I have learned so much working with the Bible Studies for Life: Kids team this year and had such joy helping produce this ongoing curriculum for preschoolers and children. One of the most valuable resources we produce for teachers may be the least known — the leader pack. Of the many questions I receive from teachers new to our Bible study curriculum, I often hear these two: “What is a leader pack? Is it worth the extra cost each quarter?”

My answer is always a resounding yes — Leader packs are so valuable for teachers in the classroom! The challenge we face is to engage today’s visual learners and spark their imaginations with art and other engaging visuals that capture the attention and engages preschoolers and children to go deeper into understanding Bible Stories and how they apply to them. The leader pack helps us engage the visual learner.

Leader packs also make teaching easy. They are designed to go hand in hand with the leader guide, providing colorful pictures, posters, and other visuals that support teaching as well as games and materials that are connected to activities teachers will lead each week as part of their Bible teaching. Here are some details that show how valuable this resource is.

Teaching Pictures: The leader pack contains a teaching picture for every Sunday of that quarter. Teaching pictures bring alive the Bible story for children with an engaging visual of biblical art. Pictures are suitable for hanging on your focal wall and holding as you tell or review the Bible story. Our philosophy is that teaching pictures are not something just to be gazed upon (although they should be intriguing, beautiful pieces of art) as if kids will learn all that need to know on their own simply by looking, but they are to be engaged with interaction between teacher and learner (what are they thinking? what are they feeling? at what point of the story do you think this happened? what happened next?) so that kids understand on a deeper level what is happening in a Bible Story.

Memory Verse and Visual Posters: Each quarter kids’ packs will have three unit verse posters, one for each unit verse, making it easier to post on your focal wall for that month to help kids memorize it. Many age groups also have other unit posters that can be added to the focal wall to engage learners.

Teaching Aids: The leader pack contains many of the go-to teaching aids each week that connect back directly with activities in the leader guide and make teachers’ preparation easier. These colorful, creative items engage kids with that week’s Bible story and real life application.

Ultimately leader packs, through engaging visuals and teacher aids, help us reach our goal in Bible Studies for Life — for kids to receive the gospel message and to apply what they are learning to their lives each day.

William Summey is the Publishing Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. He is a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Vanderbilt University. William lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Christy, and their two sons.

Family Ministry, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Teaching Kids

September 26, 2018

One Big Story

By Jeremy Carroll

Few would argue that storytelling is a highly useful tool when working with or teaching kids. The availability of hundreds of thousands of children’s books gives testimony to the commonly understood reality that kids connect with stories. In fact, it’s not just kids. Storytelling is a powerful means of communicating with just about everyone. Whether you are 9 months old, 9 years old, 39 years old, or 90 years old, nearly everyone loves a good story.

Of course, there are stories, and then there is The Story—that is, God’s one big story. While we should be very careful not to place the stories of the Bible next to fictional stories of many children’s books, we can redeem the craft of storytelling for helping children begin to see and understand the most important story of all. It is to the next generation’s advantage that we lead children to begin understanding the Bible as one story with Jesus as its central figure. We must see the Bible as God’s story with a beginning, middle, and end. There is one focus throughout the narrative. His name is Jesus.

In Gospel Centered Kids Ministry, Brian Dembowczyk notes, “Jesus interpreted Scripture, not as a collection of random stories but as one big story about Him.” (p. 34) And just as Jesus began “with Moses and all the Prophets … [interpreting] … the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures,” we should too. (Luke 24:27) Jesus was communicating to the disciples of Luke 24 that it is only by understanding the whole story that we can truly understand His work on our behalf. In his article “4 Reasons to teach the Bible’s Storyline,” Trevin Wax put it this way: “The story of the Bible gives context to the gospel message about Jesus.”(1) To begin to grasp the fullness of our salvation, we must understand—and help the kids and families we serve to understand—that every story points to the One, making the Bible one big story about Jesus.

When we see the Bible as Jesus’ story, we are freed from implying (or outright expressing) kids carry an unrealistic, unhealthy, and impossible burden of being more courageous or more faithful or even more obedient on their own. We will begin to see God’s immeasurable grace radiate off every page as we look to His Son who loves us, took the punishment we deserve, and now empowers us to live holy lives for His glory. We will see that God is faithful to carry on what He began in the garden to its completion in the new heavens and the new earth—creation’s final restoration.

Toward this goal, we want to help kids ministry leaders and parents have a framework by which to read the Bible this way, as one big story. We have included a section in our new resource Big Picture Questions and Answers for Kids called “Seeing Jesus in the Bible.” In this resource, we have included six “lenses” that can help us when studying individual stories of the Bible. Each lens gives readers a way to understand both Old Testament and New Testament stories in light of the gospel. We pray this resource will be another tool your ministry toolbox as you point your kids to Jesus.

Jeremy Carroll is the team leader for Lifeway Kids Discipleship Resources. Before coming to Lifeway, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in TN, TX, and AL. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.

3 Ways the Church can Help Kids with Back-to-School Anxiety

By Jana Magruder

Fall is here and most kids have returned to school or will very soon. A myriad of mixed emotions will consume them—excitement about new school supplies and clothes, the anticipation of the class list, and a nervous feeling about new classes, teachers, and friends. Psychologists say that anxiety increases in kids as they approach a new school year. So, how can the church (and more specifically—kids ministries) help children of all ages as they go back to school? Here are three ways:

Make church a safe place (meaning, accepting, and peaceful.) Train your volunteers to greet kids by name—immediately welcoming them as they enter. Be sure each child is known by the others in their group. Work to make connections between kids (like who has common interests, who goes to the same school, and who loves dogs or horses!)
Learn power verses together. Choose Scriptures that can help kids remember that God is in control no matter what and that they are never alone. God’s Word offers many of these promises.
Pray together. Help your volunteers remember to pray with their groups of kids. Allow kids to offer prayer requests and together lift them up. Of course, severe anxiety may require professional help. Your role may be to alert a parent or caregiver if you sense a child is struggling beyond typical back-to-school anxiety.

Kids who have godly adults from church pouring into their lives are more likely to be spiritually healthy as they grow up. The Church can play a role as kids navigate anxiety going back to school this year.

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Jana Magruder serves as the Director of Lifeway Kids. She is a Baylor graduate and offers a wealth of experience and passion for kids ministry, education, and publishing. She is the author of Nothing Less: Engaging Kids in a Lifetime of Faith, Kids Ministry that Nourishes: Three Essential Nutrients of a Healthy Kids Ministry, and Life Verse Creative Journal, which she co-authored with her teenage daughter. She and her husband, Michael, along with their three children reside in Nashville.

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Teaching Kids

July 16, 2018

Why Singing Makes for Great Classroom Management

By Jana Magruder

Training volunteers to work with children is a big part of our role in Kids Ministry. It’s important to recognize that not everyone comes equipped to manage a whole room full of preschoolers and children. In fact, often times, folks tell us “no” because they feel intimidated by working with kids in general. As leaders, we must give our volunteers practical tools for managing their groups. There are many tips for engaging kids and keeping their attention, but my personal favorite is singing—yes, singing! Now, hear me when I say—kids do not care if you are a good singer or not, so talent does not matter! Here are three reasons why singing makes for great classroom management.

Singing helps cue kids to listen: You may talk for 90% of your teaching time, but when you start singing—it signals kids to listen for what’s next. For example, as kids arrive, they may be working on an activity page or coloring sheet until you’re ready to officially “start” your time together once most friends have arrived. When that time comes, you begin with a simple song. Once kids hear you do that consistently, they will always know that when you sing—you’ve got something important to say. This also works for clean up time, dismissal, and changing centers or stations.
Singing helps teach truths in a memorable way: If you want kids to remember an important truth or take away from the Bible story and lesson, make it into a little song. Yes, you can be a songwriter—creating a simple phrase with a simple melody. Sing it—and have your kiddos sing it back to you. They will leave with that song (and truth) in their hearts.
Singing helps YOU stay joyful: Sometimes working with kids can be tiring—or even frustrating and you can risk losing your joy. But, if you keep singing as part of your classroom management—your heart will stay joyful and your kiddos will too. You can’t help but smile a little when you sing, even if it’s when you need to help friends get along, listen to a story, or clean up a mess of blocks. Singing makes everything better!

Encourage your volunteers to add singing to their toolbox for classroom management. Joyful hearts and voices will soon fill the hallways and rooms in your church!

Sing a new song to the Lord; let the whole earth sing to the Lord. Psalm 96:1

Jana Magruder serves as the Director of Lifeway Kids. She is a Baylor graduate and offers a wealth of experience and passion for kids ministry, education, and publishing. She is the author of Kids Ministry that Nourishes and Life Verse Creative Journal, which she co-authored with her teenage daughter. She and her husband, Michael, along with their three children reside in Nashville.

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Teaching Kids

June 25, 2018

4 Ways to Know You are Teaching a Verbal Learner

By Tim Pollard

A while ago I wrote a blog post about tips for recognizing a reflective learner in your group. You can read that post HERE. I figured it might be fun to give you tips for recognizing (and teaching) a verbal learner. Actually, recognizing a verbal learner might be quite easy but what most of us may struggle with are strategies for engaging a verbal learner.

My youngest daughter is without question a verbal learner. I tell people all the time that if I can get her to stop talking for five minutes she will be completely asleep, and for the most part that is true. The only exception we’ve found to that truth is if she is engaged in a game or watching TV. In those instances, she can keep quiet for about 10 minutes or so without falling asleep. Here are some ways you can identify verbal learners in your group.

A verbal learner loves to talk. This probably goes without saying, but verbal learners just really like to talk. Talking is one of the ways that a verbal learner will work out problems and create solutions. Talking isn’t bad but sometimes it can be used at not opportune times. When that happens, redirect the behavior by refocusing the child’s attention on your discussion and use his name if appropriate to draw him back into the discussion. Your verbal learner will also probably be the first hand in the air when you ask a question if she knows the answer or not.
A verbal learner will ask you lots of questions. Since verbal learners learn best by talking, it is easy to understand that they are going to ask you lots of questions to help figure out what you are talking about. If you have a verbal learner in your group you can head some of these questioning behaviors off by engaging your verbal learner with questions of your own. My verbal learner loves to ask questions so at home we turn those around and ask her questions to help her process and arrive at conclusions on her own.
A verbal learner will likely be the first to volunteer for group exercises. Putting a verbal learner in a group will be thrilling for them. They may not take the lead in group dynamics but they will relish being in a group and having the ability to express their opinions. Small group activities will help verbal learners engage peer to peer and have a voice in what is happening. Just make sure all your verbal learners aren’t in the same group and you should be good to go.
A verbal learner (mostly) loves to read. Most verbal learners are excellent readers and thoroughly enjoy reading. Some prefer the spoken word to the written word but those who engage with books well many times are your verbal learners. My daughter is a voracious reader and, even at her young age, can quickly read and comprehend a book that would take me considerably longer.

Teaching a verbal learner is always a great job, but can also be a bit of a challenge. God created everyone unique and special and we need to celebrate each child for who God created them to be. Identify those verbal learners and help them experience each lesson in a way that will keep them engaged and ready to learn.

Tim Pollard teaches 3rd graders at Tulip Grove Baptist Church. He’s passionate about helping kids dig deep into Scripture, which he pursues through his daily work as leader of the Explore the Bible: Kids team. Tim lives with his wife and daughters in Mount Juliet, TN.

Kids Ministry, Leadership, Media, Sunday School, Teaching Kids, Technology

October 30, 2017

Making Technology Work in your Classroom

By Tim Pollard

In this day and age there is plenty of technology available. We live in a society that is immersed in it, and kids are growing up as digital natives, meaning they haven’t known a world without technology. Many are fluent users as young as three years of age. We’ve seen the tablets, the smart phones, the DVD players, and any host of other things out there (and technology we don’t even know about yet). The key is to know how we can harness this different technology as we teach and keep the digital natives engaged.

First know that technology should not be shied away from, but certainly not the only thing you use when you are teaching about Christ. The technology you use should supplement what you are teaching without being used in place of your teaching. As a general rule, when we are using our Bibles to tell the Bible story kids remember that God’s Word is real and alive and valuable. Using technology in place of that experience may turn kids away from wanting to handle God’s Word.

Here are a few tips to use when you do use technology in your classroom:

Don’t be frightened to use technology. As you engage digital natives in their environment, some use of technology is going to be necessary. Don’t let the technology scare you and, if it does, practice using it ahead of time.
Be the gatekeeper of the technology. As technology is used in your classroom, make sure you are gatekeeping how and when that technology is used. Don’t let kids surf the web while in Bible study, and if they use their own devices, make sure it’s for use as directed.
Use technology only as needed. As we’ve already discussed there is no substitute for the real thing. When telling a Bible story, sure, you can use a DVD player or video online to teach the Bible story, but always follow it up by using your Bible to tell the Bible story in your own words.
Use technology to help broaden your understanding. Use the available technology to help you as you plan for a session. Do research outside your leader guide or study guide to supplement your knowledge of the topic being taught and if necessary supplement your teaching with those things.
Use technology to engage the learners. Many curricula available today have an outside app that can be used to help engage your learners as part of the learning process. Be sure if you use this technology you follow up with the learning by helping boys and girls apply what they did to the biblical content you are teaching.
Use technology to engage others. Use email, social media, social groups, or microblogging sites to alert parents to things their kids may have studied and to elicit their feedback.

As you begin to use more technology in the classroom you will see a new way of engaging your kids, and who knows, you might get much more comfortable using the technology and letting it work for you.