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THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER'S NETWORK
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Matthew 18:20

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January 26, 2000
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< Some Sundays we have 5-6 kids, and other Sundays we can have up to
< 17 kids. It's very hard to get their attention when there are so many.
< Does anyone have any suggestions on how they manage large groups of kids?

This sounds like our Church! You don't mention the age of the children, but if they are elementary school age you can ask what their school teachers do. In our area we say "one, two, three eyes on me," the kids reply back "one, two, eyes on you" They know this means attention on the speaker. Other places use a certain clap with kids either finishing it or repeating it to show they are focused.

With younger kids you can say "I am getting ready to give directions in 10, 9, 8, 7 ...1. You need to stop and look and listen." I give the appropriate signs for the words as well.

On the weeks when you have so many it would certainly be useful to have at least one other pair of hands. Good luck.

Beth
4th, 5th, 6th graders combined

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> I teach first and second graders and I'm looking for a story to teach the
>kids on this scripture: Mark 10:14 'Let the little children come to me.' I
>am working with the Gospel light booklets. How do I make this story come to
>life?

In response to the above question, I would like to suggest a skit I used
to illustrate this story. If you have bible clothing this a good time to
bring it out. I had the children dress in bible time clothes and then
picked children to play Jesus, and his disciples (I did not pick twelve
due to our class size, I picked 4). I allowed them to select which of the
twelve they wish to portray. Then I pick some of the children to be bible
children (about 5). The remaining students were people wanting to hear and
see Jesus. The Disciples made a wall by standing in front of the children
who are on their knees behind them. While I tell the story the children
are told ahead of time what to do. So when I got to the part where the
children wanted to push through the crowd to get to Jesus, they began
pulling on the Disciples clothes. The Disciples try to turn them away and
Jesus stops them saying.... We discussed why Jesus would make such a
statement. Please know I have the two to five year olds and they responded
very favorably to this role playing.

N. Smith
Cleveland, Ohio

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>Some Sundays we have 5-6 kids, and other Sundays we can have up to
>17 kids. It's very hard to get their attention when there are so many.
>Does anyone have any suggestions on how they manage large groups of kids?

I find that group activity is the best way to hold their attention. I
use games (Jesus Says). I use Videos, audio tapes, puppets, rhythm
instruments, and praise songs. Please know that I work with two to five
year olds and it works for me. If your kids are older you may want to add
hangman type games, scavenger hunts, and special guests ( associate pastor,
church nurse, community people). Crafts directly related to bible stories
(scrolls, basket making, clay jars, etc.). Hope this helps

N. Smith
Cleveland, Ohio

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With large numbers of children in the classroom, I have found that teaching dances and skits to reinforce concepts and stories works well. For example, we are learning the ten commandments, and to reinforce their learning I found a God's Top Ten CD by the Brentwood Kids which has a song for each commandment. We are presenting one dance each Sunday. The kids usually open up the worship service with their dance. The congregation looks forward to it. Also, we have a drink and snack since they get hot practicing their dance. And best of all, we will recycle the whole thing by using the dances in our Vacation Bible School. The youth will learn them, add a little of their own ideas, and we have a whole format pretty much all set very early in the year. We always use plays and dance as our focal point in our VBS. Of course, you need a large enough room to practice in and a church that is in to dance.

Shirley, N. Georgia 5-9 year olds

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I teach Sunday School to K, 1, 2 grades. I come from a small church
that is realtively poor. I am looking for curriculum I can used to
teach the children. Right now I am teaching them the Ten Commandments.
So far they know five of them.
Kathy Browning
Springfield, Ohio



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>Some Sundays we have 5-6 kids, and other Sundays we can have up to
>17 kids. It's very hard to get their attention when there are so many.
>Does anyone have any suggestions on how they manage large groups of kids?

One of the things we (my husband and I) do is to separate the class into smaller groups. (Sort of a divide and conquer technique.) Sometimes I allow the kids to separate themselves, or I'll count off 1,2,3,4 and have all the 'ones' go to one corner, the 'twos' to another corner, and so on. Once divided into smaller groups, I like to have them work together to do the lesson. For instance, they may have to read a portion of Scripture, then answer questions about it. Once finished, the individual groups will share with the rest of the class. I use this divide and conquer technique when we do crafts too. I also find that some of the more shy kids are more likely to voice their ideas in a smaller group. I always try to have the class come back together at the end to recap the lesson. When playing a game, I especially like to divide the class in half and have the boys compete against each other. It does get loud...but they are interested and learning!
Sarah Keith <><
5/6th grade boys
K-4th grade Kingdom Kids (Our midweek program)
Lake Park, FL

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Thanks for giving me credit for the "Go Tell It On the Mountain" Theme song we use at Franklin Street. However, Dave actually wrote the song, I merely said he should share it with others. Don't want to take credit for something I wish I'd done, but hadn't!

Kari Gottstein

I want to remind all of you about the availablity of the free Bible Games and Christian crafts in the site. I'd love to hear if you've used any and would love to have your feedback, negative or positive. Also, if you have a Bible game you've made up, or a Christian craft you've designed, and would want to share it, let me know and I'll put it in the site for all to use!
Blessings,
Sarah Keith <><
Moderator

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SEND IN YOUR SUGGESTIONS, REQUESTS & IDEAS! :o)

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Bible verse of the day from christiancrafters.com:
"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1-2

(Scripture references are taken from the New International Version - N.I.V.)

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