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Tips for Teachers:
Kids can smell a fake a mile away, so try your best to be sincere and
friendly. If you love books, tell them. If you like to draw, show
them. If you show them who you are they will be genuinely interested in
what you have to teach, so don't hold back!
It can be completely intimidating, walking into a room with two-year-olds
climbing up the walls. They seem like an unruly bunch, you don't know
them, their names, their families or anything else. (If you do you're all
ready ahead of the game!) So take the time to talk to each one. Set
aside part of class for, "getting-to-know-you-time," where you let them talk and
you listen. It makes them feel important and connects you to their lives instantly.
Here are a few tricks for remembering names when you
are lucky if you remember yours:
1. Have them make cute nametags on the 1st
day as part of the lesson. If you are doing Noah make the animal tags. If you are doing Jesus and the fisherman (there are several of
these) have them make a fish nametag. You get the idea. They won't
know that you need them, and think it is a lot of fun.
2. Make an attendance sheet. When
each child arrives have them put a sticker on the date. It will jog your memory
and they will think it is something special.
3. Hang up a photo of each child with their
name under it as room decorations. On the top of the photo write JESUS
LOVES...and then put the child's name on the bottom. It is a quick
reference to you, decorates the room, and conveys to the kids that Jesus loves
them every time they come - and it's just plain exciting to have your photo
on the wall like a movie star!
Kids
are so easy to engage. Lecturing to them is not within their capabilities,
so don't even try. Get on your hands and knees, look them in the eye,
laugh with them, play with them, and don't worry if you look silly. The
kids will think you're great, hang on your every word, and remember what you
say. Those are three key things in communicating with children. You
want high retention rates. You want them to want to learn, and you want
them to have fun. This is a win win situation!
Getting Started:
Not every group is the same, so you will need to know what you are walking into
to be an effective teacher. Are they middle-class, inner-city, foster, or
a diverse mixture of children? Have they been at church before? Do they know
what to expect? If they do know what to expect you will need to reaffirm
expectations at the beginning of your time as teacher. If they are new to church
you will need to tell them what you expect - and be specific using words they
can understand. If you need them to come in, sit down, put their name tag
on, listen to a story, do a lesson, have a snack, and then have an activity, tell
them. Routine helps them be at ease, know what to expect, and retain
more information.
After you decide/ learn who you have, find out what you have - what you have to
work with. What does your classroom look like? What supplies do you
have? What will the children have to use on a regular basis? What
support do you have, or need? Are there helpers? Finding out the
answers to all these "what" questions will help you get started on the right
foot. It will tell you what you need to bring, if you have the same room
every week, if other people will use your room (which will effect how you set it
up) and more. This helps your peace of mind and calms your nerves,
too.
This is after, "the what section," because now you should
know what you have to work with. Usually it isn't very much. Maybe
you have an outdated supply closet, full of faded papers and tangled yarn. Maybe
you have a drawer of scrap paper and broken glue sticks. Maybe you have nothing designated
as, "children's ministry," and will need to use other things entirely. Knowing
what you have will tell you what you need.
And do try your best to be
creative and use what you have to save yourself a budget hike. Scrap paper
can be combined with new paper and add different dimensions and shades. Old
tempera paint can be revived with a couple of drops of water (let it sit
overnight and mix). And then for things to spice up your lesson that won't
add a hole to your budget use daily items, such as sugar cubes/ packets,
pencils, pens, coffee filters, tea bags, paper plates and cups, and anything else
you can think up. These resources are inexpensive and have a lot of
potential. So try to use what you have before you
buy.
It is so tempting to make a cute lesson because
you want to use coffee filter flowers, but if the lesson lacks purpose it
did not teach anything, convey anything, and the kids lose out. So
make sure, before you even start, what it is that you want them to take away from this
experience/ lesson. Is it most important that they learn where it
is in the Bible? Or characters names? A theme? Or capture an
image of what happened?
There are many things they take away without you
even saying a word...e.g. Come in and sit down in a chair at the table - This says that rules and discipline are highly expected.
It also says to kids this is going to be boring.
If they come in and
see nothing on the walls, no colorful anything - it confirms this will be
boring. So, new teachers...use that old paper, paint and glitter and
make posters, signs and put up photos of the kids. A great thing for
them to realize is you understand them and care about them...and that is a
great thing for everyone to see when they enter the kids classroom -
including the parents!
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