preschool – Page 12

May 3, 2011

Guest Blogger: Amy Fenton Lee, Children’s Ministry begins at Conception

I’m so excited to have Amy Fenton Lee as a guest blogger today. You can find more about Amy on her blog The Inclusive Church. Amy is also a children’s ministry volunteer at her home church, First Baptist Church, Cumming, Georgia, and this fall you can catch Amy at the Kid’s Ministry Conference right here in Nashville. Trust me, you’ll love her!

———————————–

Amy Fenton Lee Bio Shot December 2009.jpg

Children’s Ministry begins at Conception: Birthing a Cradle Care Ministry

Spiritual awareness ofte n arises in a family’s life during a child’s gestation, well before the age of participation in Sunday morning small groups or VBS. Expectant couples usually begin thinking about their faith and the beliefs they will pass on to their new baby. At the same time, the pregnancy and new family addition may be the catalyst for increasing life complications. The transition from newlywed couple to family status can bring added marital strife and boundary struggles with the extended family. Many churches have the relational and learning environments to support and grow the expectant couple. The dilemma becomes attracting and keeping the couple engaged in the church through the demanding, sleepless first year of their child’s life.

Cradle care ministries can be an effective means of outreach and inreach to cement such an expectant couple inside a church. In 2000, Dawn Burgess assumed the role of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church’s (Birmingham, AL) preschool minister. She took a minimally effective “Cradle Club” program and re-birthed it as a serious ministry for the church. Over the coming years Cradle Care would grow to be an integral part of Dawson’s strategy for life-on-life relational impact and a key tool in marketing the church to unchurched families. Expectant parents are now invited or drawn to the church because of the way Dawson celebrates a newborn. However, the real goal of Cradle Care is to create the avenue to connect young couples (or even single mothers) to a longer term source for spiritual development. Gary Fenton, the senior pastor of Dawson, shares that the Cradle Care ministry has generated incredible growth in so many ways for Dawson: “We can easily trace a large number active church families to a Cradle Care beginning at Dawson. But what is most satisfying is watching those one time care recipients develop into servant leaders in our church, and more importantly, inside their own homes.”

Dawson’s ministry team shares that there are some essential ingredients to an effective Cradle Care Ministry:

Celebration: Cradle Care givers place a colorful cradle shaped yard sign in front of a family’s home upon the infant’s arrival. The eye-catching sign prominently displays the church’s logo and “Dawson Cradle Care” while also revealing the sex of the new baby to those passing by. The Dawson ministry team shares humorous stories of families going to incredible lengths in pursuit of the popular yard sign. The church also brings attention to pregnancies and new births on a large, attractively designed bulletin board displayed in a prominent area of the church campus.

Honor: The birth of a new child is worthy of commemoration. Many families come from backgrounds where a child’s baptism or dedication before the church is a sacred occasion or even sacrament. Indeed the birth is significant in the life of a family and a church. Even today’s generation appreciates the importance of ceremony when used in a meaningful way. Dawson’s pastor leads the church in a time of corporate prayer and dedication for each new infant and their family during a worship service. Only one family dedication is done in a single worship service. The church’s personal and heart-felt recognition time has become a church and community trademark.

Equipping: The Cradle Care ministry caregivers are hand-picked, established, and outreach oriented women who are young mothers themselves. These already active and involved church members are committed to regular prayer for their care recipients and prepared to assist in times of crisis. Caregivers are coached to handle and support families through high risk pregnancies, still births, and a myriad of other problems which can arise during this time of change. Caregivers also understand that their primary role is to help the expectant and new mother acclimate to a longer term church ministry environment such as a Sunday morning fellowship group, midweek Bible study, or “Moms-n-More” circle.

Relationship Cultivation: Numerous opportunities for relationship development are created through ministry events, contacts, and sign or gift deliveries. Even the pastor’s wife meets and prays privately with the new family just prior to their participation in the Sunday worship dedication. Every “touchpoint” is important for both helping the family feel connected to the church and for the preschool staff or caregivers to discover any underlying ministry needs. A semi-annual church-sponsored dinner is the central event of the Cradle Care ministry. Expectant or new parents are hosted by their assigned caregivers. Their table “teams” take part in interactive trivia and ice-breaker games. Small prizes (such as a package of baby spoons) encourage conversation in what is a fun approach to educate participants on nursery policy or comical topics like daddy awareness.

Various married couples from the church who are one step ahead in their parenting and spiritual journey serve as speakers for the semi-annual dinner. These young but further along parents share truths they have learned in their parenting experience while weaving in the importance of raising children with a Christ-centered focus. The event is designed to be an intimate gathering where parents can build friendships with other families who will have children in children’s ministry environments. Equally important is the goal of helping first time parents become comfortable with the nursery care their child will soon receive. The dinner concludes with a tour of the childcare facilities. During this time the preschool minister reassures the sometimes nervous parents of their child’s safety in the nursery. – Amy Fenton Lee

Amy Fenton Lee is a passionate children’s ministry volunteer at First Baptist Church, Cumming, GA. Amy will be teaching at Lifeway’s KidsMinistry 101 conference October 10th – 12th in Nashville. Amy also writes for her own blog, www.theinclusivechurch.com, to equip churches for successful special needs inclusion.

Training

April 26, 2011

3s and 4s and Pre-K, Oh My

By swiley

What do you know about middle and older preschoolers?

The most important thing you can remember is that they are changing. A young 3-year-old is developing coordination and fine motor skills; a pre-kindergartner is beginning to print letters and words. That’s quite a range of abilities. Here’s a quick snapshot of this age group.

3s…

climb well, run easily, and jump with two feet.
hold a pencil or crayon and draw various kinds of strokes.
draw lines or scribbles but not representational pictures.
can begin to use scissors but have little control over their cutting.
play more individually than cooperatively.
can take turns in games (but waiting a long time is difficult).
turn pages in a Bible and can talk about familiar Bible stories.
may move from activity to activity quickly but will circle back to repeat activities.

4s…

move forward and backward, hop and stand on one foot, and go up and down stairs easily.
draw circles, squares, and people (with 2-4 body parts).
may copy a few letters, especially the initial letters of their names.
play more cooperatively with other children.
show more independence.
begin to focus longer on an activity.
like to retell Bible stories (and other stories).
increase their vocabularies (maybe up to 2000 words).

Pre-Ks…

develop good hand-eye coordination.
play cooperatively and may work together to create elaborate scenarios.
exercise steady control of scissors, pencils, and crayons.
want to know why and how.
begin to copy words and can spell/print their names.
begin to ask questions about God.
enjoy classifying, sequencing, and sorting.

Teachers can provide activities that allow kids with different skills to be successful.
For example, young 3s can draw as you talk about their families; 4s can draw pictures of their families as you talk about them; pre-Ks can talk about and draw ways to help their families.

Teachers can adapt activities that allow their kids to be successful.
Pre-Ks can cut out pictures from magazine pages to make a collage. For 4s, teachers can draw circles around pictures as a guide for cutting. For 3s, teachers will need to cut out pictures beforehand.

Teachers should provide activities that allow children to make choices.
3s may want to come and go at an activity. Pre-Ks and 4s may want to stay for a while at one activity. Provide activities that allow a child to work as long as he chooses and decide when he is finished.

Teachers should use the Bible with 3s, 4s, and pre-kindergartners.
No matter what age, children can handle the Bible, turn the pages, and hear the stories and verses. Encourage 3s to use the Bible. Turn to a Bible marker with 4s. Point to words and names with pre-Ks.

Whatever age group you teach, provide experiences that allow kids to hear, know, and do God’s Word. You can help kids build strong spiritual foundations in their lives during the preschool years.

Related Article: Learning Styles and Teaching Tips

Leadership, Sunday School

April 13, 2011

Two Ways to Teach Teamwork with Marble Painting

By swiley

Last week I posted about painting with preschoolers and kindergartners. Painting is not just a fun activity or an activity that helps in development. Painting can be a great tool for teaching concepts and building spiritual foundations in the lives of boys and girls. Here are two ways you can use marble painting to help teach the concepts of working together and helping one another.

Giant Marble Painting

Materials needed: Large canvas (choose one that’s not too large for the kids to handle); pieces of cardboard; tape or industrial stapler; bowls of paint; variety of marbles; spoons

Tape or staple lengths of cardboard around the canvas. Make sure the cardboard extends above the canvas at least a couple of inches. You want the canvas to look like a box when you are done.
Drop marbles into the bowls of washable tempera paint. Use the spoons to scoop out the marbles and drop them onto the canvas.
Gather 2-4 kids to pick up the canvas (by the bottom). Station kids around the sides of canvas and encourage them to work together to move the canvas up and down causing the marbles to roll back and forth and around. Stop after a couple of minutes, put the marbles in the paint and back in the canvas, and repeat.
Encourage kids to take turns moving the canvas. Talk about how we work together at church or families work together at home.
Move your canvas to a safe place to dry when you are done. Display your work of art in the classroom or hallway of your children’s area.

Note: This activity is best done with older preschoolers, kindergartners, or first and second graders.

Rolling Marble Painting

Materials needed: Cylinder container with lid (like an oatmeal box); paper; bowls of paint; variety of marbles; spoons; tape (especially for younger preschoolers)

Cut the paper to fit inside the container. Slide one piece of paper into the container and make sure it lays flat against the sides of the container.
Drop marbles into bowls of washable tempera paint. Use spoons to scoop out the marbles and drop them into the container.
Put the lid on the container. Tape the lid down for extra security (especially if doing the activity with 2s or younger 3s).
Ask two children to stand on either side of a table. Lay the container on its side and encourage the children to roll the container back and forth. You could involve more than 2 children and roll it all around among them. If you need more space, use the floor.
Talk about ways friends help one another or ways that people work together at your church.
Remove the marbles and the paper. Insert another piece of paper and ask the two children to do it again (so each child will have a painting). Or cut the painting in half after it dries. Or display the paintings in your children’s area.

Note: This activity can be done with 2s and older. (I’ve even seen it done with older 1s.)

Guest Blogger: Amy Fenton Lee, Children’s Ministry begins at Conception

3s and 4s and Pre-K, Oh My

Two Ways to Teach Teamwork with Marble Painting

All Ministry Sites

Digital Resources

Lifeway Network