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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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Questions Worth Answering

What are the questions you’ve been asked recently? Here are some questions from the pint-sized theologians I’ve gotten to know. (And some answers to get you started thinking!)

Who made God?
There’s a verse in the Bible where God says that no one came before God, and He will keep on being God forever. (See Isaiah 43:10.) There will never be a time when He isn’t around. That’s really hard to understand, but I’m glad to know that God is so much greater than I can even imagine!

Do you need to wear an astronaut suit in heaven? And can we drive there?
That might be fun, but I don’t think we’ll need to wear an astronaut suit. We can't drive to heaven, and we can’t fly there on an airplane or in a rocket either. Or on a bicycle or a scooter. Only when we’re all finished living here on Earth does God bring us to live with Him in heaven.

Will I be able to take my toys to heaven?
Which toys would you want to take? Toys are fun things, but I imagine that heaven will be so interesting with so many things to do and places to go and people to see that we won’t even want to do the things we do now. I think heaven is going to be filled with wonders that will make us forget all about the things we have now.

How big is God? Is He taller than my daddy?
Well, no one has ever measured God. In fact, no one has ever seen God, because God doesn’t live in a body. He is a spirit. And, He can be everywhere at once. He can be with you at your house, and with me in my house. So while your daddy is pretty tall, he can only be in one place at a time.

What is “bless-ed?”
To bless someone is to do good for them, to help them. Someone who has received good help is called blessed.

Am I blessed?
You certainly are! And so am I. God has given us so many good things and helped us in so many ways! Yes, we are blessed!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Tips for Talking

By the end of a Sunday School class, I often feel like I’ve been talking the whole hour! Greeting kids, reassuring parents, telling the Bible story, giving children words to say when there’s a disagreement, answering questions—it always seems like there’s so much to be said!

I’ve recently realized that sometimes with all that talking, a child often tunes me out! So I’ve been thinking about how to choose my words wisely, learning to talk with a child, rather than always giving directions to him or her. Here are some tips that have helped me—maybe they will help you, too!
• Begin by listening. When I’m talking with a child, I try to focus my attention as though the child were the only one in the room. Not only because I really want to learn about the child, but also because I think the child will be a better listener when I want to talk.
• Let the child take the lead. I try not to be constantly talking—silence can be good! It gives a child the time and space to start a conversation, or to show me something. That’s a great opportunity for me to find out what the child’s interests are.
• Get the child’s attention before speaking. I know I’ve wasted lots of breath saying things when no one was listening! So instead of talking with a child from across the room, I go to where the child is and get my face at the child’s eye level.
• Give specific instructions. I like to help a child know exactly what to do when I give directions. Instead of saying something general such as “Put the toys away,” I might say “The puzzles need to go back on the shelf.” (And for an older child who is familiar with our class routines, I might ask, “Where do the puzzles need to go?”)

And I’ve learned the hard way not to ask a question or offer a choice when there really isn’t a choice. “Collin, will you put away the blocks?” leaves the child open to saying “No.” Better to say: “Collin, moms and dads will be here soon. What do you need to do with your truck?”

The things I’m talking about on Sundays are more than just good information. I’m talking to kids about Jesus and how to follow Him. It’s the reason I want “to be prepared in season and out of season” (see 2 Timothy 4:2) to speak wise words.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Talking About Prayer

We hear a lot of talk these days about the standards for teaching kids about reading, math and science. But I don’t hear so much talk about the standards (the goals) for what we want to teach kids about prayer!

What DO we want to teach preschoolers about how they can talk to God and how He talks to them? Some people might say that prayer is an ancient tradition we want to teach kids because when they are grown-up, they need to know how to do it. But if you’ve ever been in a group of preschoolers and listened to them pray, you know that prayer experiences are vital to kids’ everyday lives. For those of us who teach young children, it’s up to us to make prayer something that relates to a young child’s life—not with the expectation that the young child will fully understand prayer, but with the goal of laying a foundation that can be built upon as the child grows.

So here are some explanations I say frequently when I’m teaching preschoolers to help them get started on a lifetime of prayer:

1. Because a child may view prayer as a magical formula, explain prayer simply:

“When we pray, we talk to God and He hears us.”

2. Because a child may most often hear prayers in church, say:

“We can pray anytime and anywhere.”

3. Because a child’s experiences of prayer may be limited, teach:

“We can pray silently, aloud or by singing.”

4. Because a child may not understand the reason why people often close their eyes when praying, explain:

“Closing our eyes helps us think of what we are saying.”

And then, even after saying these helpful words, I keep in mind that kids are going to learn the most about prayer by listening to me pray! My words and my attitude will teach more about prayer than any instruction I can give!

Monday, May 9, 2011

A Teacher's Job

Were the kids in your class talking about moms and telling the ways their families were celebrating Mother’s Day? The kids at my church had some interesting responses when asked about their mothers:

Do you think your mother’s job is hard or easy? There were many answers about why this job is hard—most of the answers had to do with cleaning up messes!

Does your mom get paid for what she does? Most answered no, but one brave preschooler answered, “Twenty dollars!”

If your mom doesn’t get paid for her work, why does she do this job? I was glad to hear the overwhelming response of “She loves me!”

Every Sunday, we have a job, too. Do you think it’s hard or easy? Probably we each have a different answer to this question. Do you get paid for what you do? And, if you don’t get paid, why do you do this job of teaching preschoolers about Jesus? I have several answers to this last question. See if any of my answers are the same as yours.

I do this job because I love to be around little kids. They are fun—and you get to do fun stuff! Every week there are creative play to learn activities that get teachers and kids involved in discovery learning, and in talking about Bible truths.

I do this job because I’m convinced that even young children are ready to start following Jesus—and I want to be a part of that! My curriculum gives just the right words so that I can communicate Bible stories and verses to preschoolers.

I do this job because Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations”—and I don’t think He meant for us to ignore the “nation” of preschoolers! I want to obey Jesus, and I’ve discovered that making disciples of preschoolers also means I’m reaching parents with the Bible truths their families need to know.

Hard or easy, paid or volunteer, teaching preschoolers (kind of like raising kids) is a job with eternal rewards!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Five Ways to Teach Bible Verses

Can preschoolers memorize Bible verses and the facts of Bible stories? Of course they can! I remember my child catching me when I tried to shorten the reading of a favorite story by skipping a few of the pages. If you’re a parent, that’s probably happened to you, too!

Do preschoolers always understand the words they’ve memorized? Maybe, maybe not! When a young child repeats the words, it’s not a guarantee of their understanding. So that’s why I emphasize understanding rather than memorization when I teach Bible verses to preschoolers at church. I make sure to use Bible verses with words kids can easily understand, and I make sure to talk about ways to obey the Bible truth in everyday life. Weaving the Bible verse into conversation, songs and activities means that the kids memorize the verse AND get the understanding, too!

Here are some of my favorite active ways to encourage kids to “hide God’s Word in their hearts.”
#1: Lead kids to say the Bible verse in different ways (slowly, quickly, softly, loudly, whispering). Guess which way is the favorite of the kids I teach? If you answered “loudly,” you got it right!
#2: Have kids stand up, and as you lead them to say the words of the verses touch your head, shoulders, knees and toes, using one motion as each word of the verse is said. (This is also great exercise!)
#3: Here’s a way to challenge older preschoolers: Repeat the verse with your kids several times. Then say the verse, leaving out a word. Ask the kids to identify the missing word. Repeat the verse several times, each time leaving out a different word.
#4: Ask kids to repeat the verse with you, each time clapping in a different way (to the front, to the side, over head, or down low). This idea is great for celebrating a verse like the one from last week’s lesson: “Jesus said, ‘I am alive for ever and ever!” (Revelation 1:18).
#5: Ask kids to hold out closed fists. As you lead children to say words of verse, open one finger at a time. Repeat it several times!

I love ideas like these. First of all, because brain research tells us that the more we move, the more we learn! And second of all—most of all—because I want God’s Word to “stick” in a child’s mind and life!