“Research has shown that we learn more about things for which we initially make incorrect predictions than for things for which our initial predictions are correct. The element of surprise in discovering we are wrong is conducive to learning.”
Most of us will nod our hear when we read the above, and yet we often teach as though it isn’t true. We expect crafts to look just like the photograph with the instructions, even though it was put together by a 6 year old. We give a child a bible and 10 minutes to find 2 passages in a minor prophet and then wonder why they haven’t found the first one when we go check on them.
We expect a child’s satisfaction with the lesson to be linked to our goals and expectations… IT’S NOT.
Children learn by their mistakes and so do we. When a lesson falls flat on it’s face it’s important to shrug off the disappointment and see it as a gift for showing you how you can better plan your next lesson. See the positive by seeing how many of the below list you can answer with YES!
+ Did the child learn physically, emotionally, or spiritually today?
+ Did the leader learn physically, emotionally, or spiritually today?
+ What specific factor caused the lesson not to go as planned – was it out of my control?
+ Was God still in the work we did, and did I reflect that?
+ Were the people in our care safe, not endangered?
If you can answer yes to all those then perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all. As a final encouragement i’ll share with you a photograph of a 5 year old trying to lace a sandle, sadly the leaders were all otherwise engaged shortly after we started to guide him, so he did his best and finished. It may look a bit odd but i’d count it a huge success.
(just think of the sense of achievement, the development of motor skills, the pride of doing something unaided)
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