Sheryl Haystead loved teaching kids God's Word. These writings are from her last years of teaching Sunday School and are full of wisdom and compassion for the little ones Jesus loves so dearly--Sheryl loved them, too.
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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Keeping Up with Parents

Or maybe this blog should be titled “Helping Parents Keep Up.” Every week our kids leave Sunday School with a FamilyFun take-home paper, sometimes an art project, and always the TalkTime activity page. Parents’ hands are overloaded and I can’t help wondering what happens to all these things we send home.

Parents are different, just like their kids are. Some are happy to put the art masterpiece up on the fridge. Others are looking for a truth to teach and a prayer to say at bedtime. One parent proudly displayed her son’s TalkTime activity page on a bulletin board, only to hear from her son that she had ruined his special paper because she had stuck holes in it!

For better or worse, however, I’ve realized that most of the time parents don’t know how to make the most of what we send home—unless I tell them. So my goal every week is to say a quick sentence to encourage busy moms and dads:


  • - "There’s a bedtime talk and prayer in this paper every week."
  • - "Jake had a great time putting these pictures in order. Here’s the question that tells what you can ask him about."
  • - "Look at the sticker Savannah is wearing. It tells what we talked about today."
  • - "Joshua used so many leaves to make his picture of you! His picture reminds us to forgive the people in our families."


I have to confess I don’t always meet my goal! But I figure if I don’t have a goal, I’ll never even think of what to say—much less do it. (And besides, aren’t you inspired by all those Olympic athletes and their determination? I’m determined to teach kids about Jesus!)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Silly Songs

Today I had fun playing and singing with the two-year-olds.

I was singing, "Where is Nolan? Where is Nolan? There he is! There he is! I'm so glad you came here. I'm so glad you came here. I like you. I like you!" (Don't be shy! Try it yourself to the tune of "Where is Thumbkin?")

At first, there were shy smiles, then big smiles and then much to my surprise I heard, "Where is Sheryl? Where is Sheryl? There she is!" My little friend Olivia was playing and singing the song back to me!

Each Sunday we play to learn, but we also play to build friendships. It reminds me of the quote "First I learned to love my teacher. Then I learned to love my teacher's God!" (Thank you, Henrietta Mears!)

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Repetition Pays Off

Sheryl asked me to write her blog this week, as she's having too much fun playing with our youngest granddaughter. Since I got to be with the Pre-K/Kindergarten group during our church's second service this morning, I thought I'd pass on my experience in repeating the same Bible story that most of the kids had heard during the first hour.
As soon as I mentioned that I was going to tell one of my favorites of all the stories that Jesus told, the same story that "Teacher Jackie" told during first, Lilly and Bailey announced enthusiastically that they knew the story. "It's about a guy who got beat up," one of them declared.
I just said, "I'm so impressed that you remember it. It's a very important story that Jesus wants us all to remember. And I launched into Jesus' parable of The Good Samaritan. As I pulled out each flannel figure and attached it to the board, Lilly or Bailey had something to say about that character. Their description of the robbers was very disapproving of such behavior. The figure of the poor victim lying on the ground elicited several comments about various injuries the kids had sustained. When I walked the first traveller across the board to where the victim was sprawled, I asked the kids if this man stopped to help. "No!" they said. "He just went on." There was one hopeful thought that perhaps this fellow would catch up to the robbers and explain to them that what they had done was not nice, there was no doubt at all that the kids had this story down.
But did that hurt their interest? Not in the least. They remained totally interested in the fate of the poor man and rejoiced when a kind traveller got off his donkey and took care of his injuries. And best of all, the children clearly understood the lesson Jesus wanted us to learn from this narrative.
And me? I was reminded again that, for young children, the stories they like the best are the ones they already know the best. Repetition adds immensely to their pleasure and understanding.

Monday, February 8, 2010

It's All About Play!

If you were to ask preschoolers their favorite thing to do, chances are the answers would include the word "play." I think that's why I'm such a fan of the time for play that we have in Sunday School.

When grownups come to church, they often put on their "church" faces and show their "church" actions--but not preschoolers! Especially when they are playing, observant teachers get to see honest, up-front words and interaction. What that means to me is that lessons about showing love, being kind, doing what's right can be taught right in the middle of what preschoolers most enjoy doing--playing.

Of course, it also means that as a teacher I get to model all these wonderful lessons at the same time!

Go ahead, ask a preschooler in your life what his or her favorite thing to do is. (Oh, and if the answer is "watch TV," get down on the floor and start playing--and teaching!)