I'm sorry to burden you with another question. I am being challenged by a lot of facets of Sunday School teaching, being very new at it, and I value your knowledge and experience very much.
My class consists of children aged 3-8. I really don't mind having that range - everyone seems able to find a common ground and work from there (I have 2 unchurched kids in my class - my one from a non-Christian home etc who comes with his Grandma is now bringing a friend! PTL!). My problem has been attendance. Big time. I don't want to plan too small - I think thinking big will be part of our SS program growing - and if everyone showed up, we'd have 12 children. So I plan for 12 every week.
The thing is, often I have only 2 children or even one.... and when there are two, it seems there is one 8 year old and one that's just turned 3. One week, it was a birthday week for 3 members of our class, so I bought a birthday cake to juxtapose birthdays with being born again, planned party games with a born-again theme (pin the new heart on the kid etc), it all just clicked like you wouldn't believe.
Until just one child showed up. Not one game was suitable. Not one activity was a one or even 2 or 3 person activity. I gave the talk and explained it all and we visited... and ate as much cake as we could.
I can find lots of resources or even think up games and activities for 12 kids or six kids or even 4 kids... but I don't know any games or activities for, say, one child plus myself or two kids plus myself. Does anyone have any insight or ideas that may help me? Our sunday school usually shuts down for the summer (they traditionally have videos or something each week instead) and I vehemently opposed this (when is the last time the pastor took the week off and set up a VCR for the congregation instead?) and am now teaching the entire summer session, but I do need some sort of plan for the sporadic attendance.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Love Hollie
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2) Tithing Ideas
In response to your request below: At 4-5 years old, children can be taught that everything belongs to God and they are to remember to ask their parents for an offering to bring each Sunday. "Tithing" in and of itself may prove to be over their heads.
As far as "alter call", I set aside a portion of our time for meditation prayer, where we go around the room and each child can tell us what he/she thanks God for. This gets children in the habit of prayer (let them know what prayer means) and encourages them in talking before others. Hope this helsp.
Take care.....jw
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3) Day Care
To Elaine in VA regarding opening a daycare,
This isn't specifically what you asked, but it's something you might want to consider. It's very wise, as this juncture, to get a lot of clarification from whomever is in charge at your church regarding decor in the classrooms. We share our facilities with a Christian school, and have had untold heartache because nobody set out parameters in regards to decor when the school began. Things that don't seem like they should be an issue ultimately caused hard feelings because the rooms became so overtly "school" that children who "only" spend time in the classrooms for Bible Class felt like visitors in the church that should've felt like "home" to them. The tables had nametags on them that were absolutely wonderful for the school children... but that meant that when "John" went to Bible Class on Sunday, he was sitting at a table space designated "Lisa" with a cute die cut and her name in glitter. The doors all had signs that welcomed the school kids with their names on them, and the toys in the room were often a distraction during Bible class, as those children who didn't attend preschool were so anxious to play at the "forbidden" water/sand table, etc., a piece of equipment the Bible Class teacher had no use for in her lesson about the Garden of Eden.
I don't say any of this to discourage you - just offering up that it's very wise to really set forth some hard and fast parameters as you decide how the rooms appear, who gets what space, etc... so that your church constituency who does not make use of the daycare doesn't feel their child's Bible Class experience has been sacrificed to letter charts and chore charts that aren't relevant to Bible Class. I have been actively involved in both our Christian school as a classroom teacher and our Bible class program as a coordinator, and after 25 years of space sharing, hindsight tells me that had we wisely set out guidelines in the very beginning regarding these issues, we'd have had much less arguing, posturing, and hurt feelings. From classroom furnishings on down, the decisions you make today will have lasting implications for both of your church's child-centered programs.
Brenda in Nebraska
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4) Wed night classes?
We are trying to start-up Wed night classes to get everyone involved in coming to church during the week. We want it to be fun, while learning about the bible also it will be on a small budget. Any ideas are welcomed. beth_z@hotmail.com
I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with feeling that 5th graders are getting a little too old to hold their attention with most K-5th grade curriculums and that 6th graders are on the young side to be put with 7th/8th ministry.
I believe this age group (5th/6th) graders are in a real transitional stage of their life and we can serve them better by targeting 5th/6th graders to prepare them spiritually for what they are going to begin dealing with in the elementary/middle school transition rather than keeping them with K-5th grade.
Two years ago I started a 5th/6th grade mid-week ministry for that exact purpose. I believe this age group could benefit from having connections with middle school leaders.
I am trying to find some printed information that documents my thoughts that 5th/6th graders have more age specific needs and are stuck between elementary school and adolscence. I believe this is a perfect time to begin forming relationships with the middle school youth leaders to help make next year's transition easier rather than keeping K-5th grades together for mid-week ministry and trying to keep their attention
Any help you can provide I would greatly appreciate it!
Linda Holland, MI lannett@fellowshipreformed.org
--from SSTN: Hi Linda: Having raised my own children and having taught this age group for many years, I can attest to the fact that this is a transitional time in children's lives. In fact, many publishers produce curriculum just for this age group. Even the public schools, at least here locally, place 6th graders in Middle school, yet they keep them mostly separated from the older population because of their maturity level. ysic, Sarah Keith <><
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6) Disruptive teens
>Anyone have any tips on disruptive teens in the Sunday School Class. I am >so happy they are attending (even if coerced by parents) and walk that >fine line of wanting to make class enjoyable and of course Biblically >based, and not offend them by calling them out with their behavior. Most >of the time it is just constant talking among the couple of friends that >sit together. Any new suggestions from experienced teen ministry leaders?
I've found that when working with talkative teens it's helpful to find out what they're talking about. (They're often surprised that I even want to know, since many teens feel that the only person who will really listen to them is another teen, hence the talking amongst themselves.)Very often we are able to include at least some of it in the discussion for that day's lesson. Other times, especially if it's a problem they're facing or there's a current issue they're concerned about, I simply throw my 'prepared' lesson out the window, so to speak, and address whatever they need to talk about in such a way that I can help them look at it from a spiritual perspective, seeing what the Bible has to say on the subject.
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7) Tithing for 4 - 5 yr olds
Using real money is one way to get their attention. You might give them each 10 pennies and tell them that it's your money, but you're going to let them use it, you just want them to give you back one of the pennies. Have them count the pennies and let them keep the remaining 9 if they want. (Obviously, this works best in a small to mid-size class!) Explain that this is what we do when we tithe, that we give God back part of His money. Then put the children's tithe pennies in the offering during church.
You can also just let them count and/or see different denominations of coins or bills, especially in groups of 10, so they can visualize what 10% means. To emphasize the idea of giving you might arrange to have the children help take the offering during church.
Hope that helps,
Karen
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8) Church Growth?
Hi People, I have been so blessed by this group. I had just started teaching sunday school at my church when i stumbled upon this network and since then it has greatly impacted my ministry starting from the useful tips to the free resources i cant thank you all enough. I owe my profound appreciation to the person who thought of putting this network together in the first place. God bless you. You are a blessing to me. Teaching in a small church here in Nigeria can be challeneging particularly when it comes to finding resources to make sunday school fun for the kids i teach. Thanks Debbie for the suggestion on churches sending used stuff to those who need them. That would be very helpful but being faraway in Nigeria will make it difficult for me to benefit from the materials.
I would like to have your suggestions on church growth. My church has been in Abuja for five years and we havent grown much. We would like to see a growth especially among youths. It almost feels like we are not impacting anyone at all.
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9) Ice Breaker Game
Pass out a list of 10 famous Bible parents ...
to read the rest of this game idea, go to the games section at http://www.SundaySchoolNetwork.com
, then click over to the Ice Breaker games.
Enjoy!
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