Let's discuss faith-shaping ministries to kids.
Faith Formation
Karen
Lenae
Staci
We want to do the best job we can as teachers. We want to think carefully about our lessons and how we teach. The most important first step in being a great Sunday School teacher, though, is showing up.
My husband and I have been leading the Sunday School program at our church for a while now. We took a few minutes to think about what are some of the most important things for the care and feeding of Sunday School teachers. Here is our list.
We sometimes like to change things up in worship or in church school because we often crave new things but it is good for us to remember that rituals are not just boring routine — they are things that often make us feel.
Sometimes I see art as something to take up some extra time. But it is much, much more than that — it could be the time we spend doing art in Sunday School has the biggest chance for a lasting impact.
While reading a book about creation, one of the first pages in the book had this question: “Who named the animals?” Immediately many of the kids responded by saying “God”. When you’re in Sunday School “God” is a pretty safe answer to most questions, right?
If you’re stuck inside making plans for the next year when you’d really rather be at the beach, remember, the payoff will be there when the teachers and kids show up in a few months
What do you do over the summer months to nurture your own faith-walk? What do you do to get fresh inspiration for going back to your Sunday School classrooms in the fall?
Faith formation is a daily reality that doesn’t stop for any season. That’s why I’m excited about the new summer articles on the Nurture blog with great ideas for families to use this summer.
Many of us treat church education like drivers’ training – once you get your license you’re good to go and you never ever have to take one of those classes again. But church education should not be like that. So maybe what we need is a commencement ceremony
The church is much bigger than just our town or country. God’s people live all over this world. By singing songs written by people from other parts of the world we can better understand them, what is important to them, and the challenges they face.
In Sunday School we are usually spilt up by age groups like in schools. There are good reasons for that. As we grow we can learn at age appropriate ways with our peers. But have we been using the school paradigm too much?
One of the wondering questions for the Parable of the Ten Virgins was "I wonder who the foolish virgins were?” A child answered, "I know, it was Jill" (another child in the class). What is the best way to respond?
I’m always looking for ways to help kids “remember” their baptism and understand what it means. So I was excited to see the latest board book from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. It’s called At Your Baptism
The three year olds I teach in Sunday school are wonderfully creative and fun but I need to be ready to adjust my lesson on the fly. A few weeks ago the lesson I had prepared began with each child getting a paper figure of a child to represent themselves. Then I handed out the figures ... That’s when things started to go in ways I didn’t plan for.
Everyone dreams of a Sunday school where everyone comes on time, listens attentively, responds appropriately and loves to come every Sunday. Like in Lake Wobegon all the children, teens and adults in Sunday school are above average. Then comes the reality of Sunday
Hi Everyone. My name is Laura Keeley and I am the new guide for the Sunday School network. This is a great opportunity to work with you and to learn from you about Sunday School and other things related to working with children, teens and adults. I want to thank Jolanda Howe for the great work
This is my last blog as the Sunday school Network guide, but you’ll still see me posting comments and even writing guest blogs now and then. That’s because I believe in The Network. I believe we are stronger when we share ideas, encourage one another, and look for
It's always fun to visit other churches and see what they do. One pastor I spoke with this week told me about something unique that his church does for 6th grade Sunday school. The group meets after the worship service and spends the whole time discussing the sermon
This age is a challenge for me. I plan something active, then a quiet activity, followed by something active again. Because these children are quite young I can go through many of these active/quiet sets in half an hour. Yet some days, no matter what I do, they lose interest.
Though this somber season seems at odds with the boisterous nature of kids, it can be a meaningful time to talk together about the love, forgiveness, and hope we find in Jesus. Here's an article on how to help kids journey with Jesus through Lent.
I have a pair of 9 and 10 year old girls in my group who get on each others nerves quite easily. I'd love some ideas for keeping siblings on track during Sunday school!
After singing the chorus they came to the part that said, “He knows my name”, and the little girl spoke her name loud and clear into the microphone, and passed it on to the next child, who spoke and then passed it to the next. How do you make songs more personal and meaningful to kids?
I recently attended the Dwell preview event. Each story in the curriculum has been given a symbol and these symbols are included on all of the materials for that story.
Do you bring all the kids together or do they sing in their Sunday school rooms? I've seen lots of worship DVDs that include kids singing and song motions. Has anyone used those? Any recommendations?