Preparing to Teach Archives - Page 5 of 6

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This is the second part in planning kids ministry sessions, the first part on Planning effectively can be found here.

Generally speaking you have 2 choices if you don’t plan – you can wing it, or hope the just add water style material gives you all the answers. after a couple of weeks of falling short of expectations you’ll come to realise that the planning of a given ministry lesson makes a huge difference.

So assuming you have been realistic in your planning, we now need to define the major aims of a given lesson. Even if you have pre-written material you need to do this. If you don’t know rough answers to these questions you may end up following the form of a given lesson and compromised the content. (more…)

“Organising is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” A.A. Milne

We have all been there, the Saturday night when you are just about to drift to sleep and you realise with a jolt you are doing the kids work in the morning and you don’t even know what bible passage is!

you have 2 choices…wing it, or hope the just add water style material gives you all the answers.

Planning is important, it makes a huge difference to the lesson both for those leading and those participating. Just because someone had prepared your material doesn’t mean you are off the hook. So this this the first of a series to help you plan effectively and simply.

The first thing you need to do is be realistic in your planning. Sort out the practical things and your automatically start to see what activities and teaching methods need to be used. If you don’t know rough answers to these questions you are planning in the dark. (more…)

In the UK for many years the majority of churches would use the same material. The reason for this widespread agreement was that it could be lifted off a shelf. It was specifically designed so that the ‘teachers’ just had to read and repeat, photocopy and handout, follow the instructions and instant lesson. It was black and white, the answers were as set as the questions. The problem was that it was also dull. Kids who paid attention in the younger years (like I did) could predict the comprehension questions, and sometimes the craft and the story telling method, by hearing the passage title. Eventually the material changed, it recognised that the groups it was reaching were diverse and it started to offer more options for each section of the lesson. But that gave potential teachers a new problem – composition.

“It’s not that people won’t help, it’s just, I can’t find any teachers!”

It was a fact, and for her it was a huge stumbling block. The kids ministry rota sat on the table. The list of ‘helpers’ was at least twice as long as the list of teachers. A few weeks in the notice sheet, bending ears, and downright pleading had led her to this meeting with a list, but everyone has signed up to just ‘help’. Teaching was tough.

Let me start by saying – I love helpers – I really do. Many churches can’t leave only one person with the children, and having people who are willing to be there, so that every child gets individual attention, are minor hero’s in my book.

Back to my meeting, the hot drinks are getting tepid. If the material is there, the instructions are comprehensible, why are people so reluctant to teach. These are the 4 most people seem to give;

1. The kids scare them

This may sound drastic but badly behaved kids can be a handful. However, helpers have to deal with the kids too, and a timid teacher can always be paired with someone whose better at getting the kids to tow the line

2. The preparation is too much for them

This is a real concern for some, it may be a time issue, it may be that they simply don’t have the materials at home, whatever the reason you can always pair them with a helper who will photocopy and cut out the 20 shapes needed, collect 14 egg-boxes, cook a batch of muffins, or pre-paint the Styrofoam.

3. They don’t do public speaking

To be honest this is one you just have to accept for now. Some people will be fine talking to small groups of kids but won’t talk to bigger groups of them. (Read the post on leaders like Mary, Martha, Peter and Stephen).

4. they don’t want to be the authority

This is the biggest reason people give me for not teaching. They believe the material will not give them the answers they need for the kids questions. They don’t want to look stupid. If they are the ‘leader’ they have to choose which parts of the lesson to do, and may have to justify that choice. composing a lesson is tough.

So if we solve the problems of group 1 & 2 by pairing them with relevant helpers, and accept and love group 3 for who they are, lets also give group 4 a bit of a hand.

Give it a test. Working with the young can be really rewarding, but can also feel like signing up for a life sentence. Why not turn the chore into an honour. Have a look at your schedule and choose one really well known passage. Ask a hesitant volunteer if they would be the guest teacher for that week, give them the material well in advance, and offer to go through it with them. Make it clear that this is a one off, and next time the rota comes round they don’t need to sign up again. It’s amazing how doing something gives people confidence.

Have a look at this graphic which shows how a lesson is put together, see the material as a suggestion not an authority and it becomes easier. When we understand how something is formed it’s easier for us to have confidence to change things. (the image is linked to the page with the full graphic.)

Everybody is learning, you don’t need to know the answers, “I don’t know” is a good answer – lets discover together. Faith is the bits you don’t have the answers for, God doesn’t need you have all the answers, just look at the characters from the bible if you don’t believe me!
Once you really get this idea then teaching does become easier, the pressure lifts. Reassure your team of this truth regularly.

Mary, Martha, Peter and Stephen

I wonder if you know a Martha, or a Mary? obviously not just someone who has that name, but whenever you read that story in Luke 10 you think of them. I wonder if you know a Stephen, or a Peter as well. One thing I learnt the hard way was to identify your teachers and helpers. This series of posts will look at those people who we have and how to best use them

Martha just didn’t get why Mary was sitting at Jesus feet and leaving her to do all the work. Obviously the guests needed things, she was playing the role expected of her, being a good host. It wasn’t the women’s place to pretend to be a disciple.

Some people in the church are just like Martha. They work so hard, they are always the ones turning up with extra food, grabbing the cleaning materials or the screwdriver and fixing the fabric of the church’s space. Martha’s are often unappreciated, and generally don’t like to lead. They are living out their Christianity in every act they do and sometimes is difficult to understand why they will volunteer for everything but leading. But, the kitchen is a safe place to be, you’re not made to feel like you should be Mary’s there.

Are they leaders? in example yes yes YES!
but to stand up the front? Nope!
To make them something they are not is to undervalue their offering.

Mary Mary sat at Jesus feet in a state of rapture at his words, she lapped everything up. She should have been with Mary, she knew that, but this was the place to be, and she wasn’t going to miss out on the action to slave over the fire.

Mary’s are easy to spot in church, they will work hard, but often only on things that reflect well on them. They will draw attention to the things they have done behind closed doors, not necessarily to boast but because they just can’t help sharing. They will be the first to volunteer to lead, even though their enthusiasm may not always be followed through. Mary’s will put heart and soul into what they believe in, jump in the deep end and trust god’s power is sufficient.

Are they leaders? willingly YES!
can they survive alone? nope!
To make a Mary effective you need a more practical person to support them.

Stephen wasn’t chosen as an apostle, and he didn’t sign up to be a martyr either. He was chosen to be a deacon, a Martha essentially, to serve the food and give the Apostles more time to teach. But, Stephen was full of God, he outperformed his role, given a little push and next thing you know..

If you know a Stephen you have probably never thought of them as this. Stephen’s have a servants heart but they can also stand up and make speeches. Stephens don’t volunteer to do anything as big as lead, they just see a need and fill it. If your Stephen puts their name on a list then others will follow, because they know Stephen. If Martha’s are ignored, Stephens are the golden boys. they come from nowhere and it’s easy to think of them as great at everything, but just cause they can do it doesn’t mean they need to.

Are they leaders? YES!
can they survive alone? YES!
should they? NO WAY! – they are just one part of the body of Christ and will benefit from others input

Peter was an apostle, but he was a bit of a twit too. He knew from almost day one that he was going to be a leader, that’s how he got his new name. Peter’s daft moments both of faith and failure is what makes him so memorable and so suitable to found the church

Having someone like Peter in a church can be a bit intimidating. They seem to be an authority on everything, but sometimes they seem to be more of an authority of the wrong end of the stick. They throw themselves in head first like Mary’s do, but often without really thinking and have a tendency to end up drowning. Peter’s can be hard to work with, when life is good everything around them benefits, but when they go off track they need a sharp word before they flood the place.

Are they leaders? YES!
can they survive alone? NO!
They need others probably more than any other group.

Prayer with children can become a very formulaic thing. It’s important to give a space, especially as the child gets older, to allow the child to prayer independently. A simple way of doing this is to occasionally set up a prayer area which has a small task in it.

This is a simple way of getting the children to think about the prayer needs they may anticipate for the coming season or event, or prayer related to a specific word you have been using in your lesson. You could use whatever word you think will spark their imagination or link into their needs.
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“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.

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If you don’t know spiritual development then it’s good to have a basic grasp of at least one of the theories. There are lots of spiritual development ideas many tied into the theories of cognitive thought, the whole realm of abstract thinking and self awareness. Generally the most common spiritual development scale used is that of Fowler, with Piaget being the loudest voice of child development and Gardener on intelligence’s.

I could try and summarise here but there are three nice summaries available online so I suggest you have a read through one there – start with James fowlers stages of faith 😉

WHY?? well because when we see the way our age group sees the world and God it helps us to give them better answers to their questions, chose better activities for their learning, and understand why they react positively or negatively to what we do.
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The series is designed to be used with any age group, though it’s picture style will suit children more than youth. Each is put here as part of a lesson and so will have teachers story notes, craft, colouring page, high quality image, and games.

For the teacher, the card holds all the information you need. Make sure you read it before the lesson starts. You need to find out:

(a) Where is the story in the bible? (always check if there is another account as it may use elements of both)
(b) What characteristic did the character display?
(c) Is there an element (small picture at the bottom of the card) that ties this character to a physical thing?

Simply put you need to read the bible passage(s) yourself and tell the children the story, making sure you refer to both the characteristic and the element. You can use the text on the card and in the bible as a starting point.

You will find that you have a supporting high resolution image and colouring page to go with each character. You may also find you have craft pages, worksheets, teachers notes and other things too…

Find your desired character on the Heroes page or for the rest of the lesson resources on the full lessons page.

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