Knowing how to talk about the Christmas story with your kids in a fresh way year after year can be a challenge, especially if your kids span a large age range. This three-lesson series for 3-12-year-olds is a great resource to use alongside The Christmas Promise storybook in the run-up to Christmas, whether at home or at church. ... continue reading
We sat down with the author and the illustrator of God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook for an inside scoop into the creation of the book!... continue reading
Why we need to teach our children more than manners ... continue reading
During this blog series we’ve seen that there’s no such thing as “just a helper”, we always need to start with the passage, that we focus the fun on the main teaching point, and that children learn best if we provide a range of learning styles. All of these things have a bearing on the single topic that most children’s workers worry about – discipline!
Discipline is a planning issue
Children are sinners – just as we are. Their sinfulness sometimes shows itself in bad behaviour. Ours can show in how we respond. But the way we plan a session can minimise discipline issues, making it easier for children to control themselves, and for us to focus on teaching and modelling Christian truths.... continue reading
You can read large books about learning styles, or even study it at college, but the basics can be summed up in one phrase:
Different people learn in different ways.
Actually, it’s perhaps better to say that different people learn best in different ways. So most of us learn a bit no matter how something is taught, but we will learn best through whichever style suits us the most.
Roughly speaking, there are three learning styles:
Spot the problem with this session:
Opening game – dodgeball
Song – Father Abraham
Bible story – feeding the 5000
Quiz – recognising different kinds of fish
Prayer – for good weather for the church picnic
Craft – making paper windmills
We all want children to enjoy a session, and most of them would enjoy this one. A lively game, an action song, a great story, a competitive quiz, prayer for a sunny day, and a fun craft that moves in the wind. Cool!
BUT...... continue reading
I hope the children’s teaching material you use helps you teach the Bible well and faithfully. But no matter how good the material is, still expect to make changes. I’m the UK editor for the CLICK teaching syllabus, but even so, every time I’ve used it, I’ve changed it!
There’s so much that writers of published material, myself included, simply don’t know. They haven’t met the children in your group, or the team who teach them. They don’t know how long your session lasts (sometimes, you don’t get much warning of that either!) or the space you meet in. They can’t see that your group is full of active boys, or that you have to keep the noise down because the crèche is next door. They don’t know if your group is mostly younger ones this year, or an after-school group where the children have little Bible knowledge. They don’t even know whether you have two children or twenty.... continue reading
Most children’s groups use some kind of published teaching syllabus. An intrepid few write their own. But the beginning point is the same for everyone: Always start with the passage.
Published teaching material will have chosen the passage for you. So you open the manual/website just long enough to find out the passage; then shut it again.
If you read the leader’s notes and session outline at this point, you’ll be looking at the passage through someone else’s eyes. But you don’t need their eyes. If you’re a Christian, if you’ve put your trust in Jesus Christ, then you have the Holy Spirit living in you. And one of the things He does is help us understand God’s living Word. So don’t start with the manual – start with the passage.
Here are a few practical suggestions to help you do this:... continue reading
“I just pour out the juice, and help with cutting and sticking”,
“I’m only on the rota twice a term”,
“I’m not one of the leaders – I’m just a helper.”
I hear these so often at training events. But the Bible doesn’t see it that way – and neither do the children in our groups.
You won’t find any direct reference to children’s work in the Bible. Children were taught the faith in their families. And the responsibility for the spiritual education of children still lies with their parents, and especially fathers (eg: Deuteronomy 6 v 4-9; 6 v 17-25; 32 v 46; Psalm 78 v 1-8; Proverbs 1 v 8; 22 v 6; Ephesians 6 v 4; 2 Timothy 3 v 14-15)..... continue reading
They’ve closed the allotments near the office. The gate is locked. The sign says a new pond is being created for a colony of great crested newts. No access allowed while the work is done. However, we are reassured that a licensed newt handler will be on site at all times.
Intrigued, I checked out how to get a licence. You need plenty of experience of working on great crested newt surveys – and two referees who’ve worked with you and can confirm you’re able to handle the newts safely and do surveys correctly. You can then apply to Natural England for a licence – though you may not get one.... continue reading