Step by Step—Session Prep
While leaders do bring fun into the classroom, they’re not clowns. Their fun has a serious purpose, and it’s carefully planned to land in square in the hearts of children.
Let's discuss faith-shaping ministries to kids.
While leaders do bring fun into the classroom, they’re not clowns. Their fun has a serious purpose, and it’s carefully planned to land in square in the hearts of children.
What do kids do best? Talk and move! Yet what do teachers often want them to do? Be quiet and sit still. What’s wrong with this picture?
We all have different “comfort zones” when it comes to prayer. Use these prayer pointers to expand your comfort zone!
A wise person once said you only need three loves and two skills to be a good teacher.
One of the most precious gifts you can give to the children in your group is to truly listen to them. When you listen, you’re giving them permission, inviting them to ask important questions and explore their faith.
Are you looking for some ways to encourage the kids in your group to talk and listen to God? If so, check out these suggestions for teaching children about prayer.
Wondering what the best kinds of questions are to stimulate kids’ imaginations and nurture their faith in the classroom? Check out these tips...
Sunday school teachers are a lot like plants. Without support they’ll dry up, wither away, and disappear. Sounds pretty harsh, right? But that’s the way it is with ministry.
As one experienced teacher put it, creating a disciplined environment to ensure optimal learning requires equal parts of technique and personality.
Children aren’t the church of tomorrow — they’re the church of today just as much as adults are! Find ways you can help kids identify, develop, and use their gifts for the benefit of the body.
What can you do to ensure that bullying doesn’t happen on your watch? Here are some pointers gathered from organizations that have studied the issue of bullying and its effect on kids.
In Sunday school, we want to create an environment where everybody belongs and everybody learns and grows together. What does that mean for kids with visual impairments? Check out these helpful ideas from Sister Barbara Cline, the Director of the Office of Faith Formation for the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.
Imagine a room full of wide-eyed kids, amazed by the stories of Scripture; activity, variety, and discovery choreographed seamlessly into a lesson that captures the imagination and inspires! Consider these ideas for keeping your kids engaged and focused right from the start.
When a story engages our imaginations, it sticks with us long after the lesson. Here are three things I keep in mind each time I tell a story with kids.
Since the time we do have with Sunday School kids is so small, we need to make each minute count. We need to do two things: connect with families and connect with kids. Here’s how.
More Than Storytelling is a free workshop you can lead with your team that compares a variety of approaches to Biblical interpretation and teaching.
Here are some suggestions for helping you make your Sunday school a place where children experience the unbiased, unreserved love of Jesus and each other.
Kids think and act so much differently than adults that relating to them can be a challenge! The links below summarize intellectual, social, and spiritual characteristics of kids at various age levels, and offer tips for helping them grow in faith.
The preteens in your group can vary all the way from the boys who profess to hate the opposite sex to the sophisticated young teen whose thoughts have turned to make-up and boys. Here are a few reminders for you to consider as you prepare to teach your middle schoolers.
Being aware of the patterns of development of fourth and fifth graders can help you understand and minister to the unique persons God has placed in your care. Here are few useful reminders.
Having survived learning the basics of reading and writing, children in this age group are (usually!) eager learners. Here are a few “typical” characteristics of this age group.
Going to school marks a tremendous change in the lives of these little ones, a change that’s felt not only in the home but in the church school as well. Here are some of the characteristics you’ll see in children in kindergarten and first grade.
It's natural to have some feelings of uneasiness about working with children who have disabilities, but these fears will quickly disappear as you gain some experience. Here are some general tips.