Play! Listen! Talk!

The faces of the children in my group were very serious today and their eyes were focused on me. I was telling the story of Peter’s lies when he denied knowing Jesus. I told them how sad Peter was after his lies, and that the Bible says he cried because of his sorrow. And then we talked about how Peter may have felt that Jesus couldn’t possibly love him anymore because of his lies—his sin. I could tell that the kids identified with this feeling. I think they’ve all experienced the fear of being unloved because of their wrong actions.

The look on the kids’ faces made me wonder how many of them have been told that they are bad when they do something wrong or when they disobey. The Big Question of our story today was “When I sin, does that mean I’m bad?” I was so glad to be able to tell these precious young children the Big Answer: “Because God loves you so much, when you sin you can ask God to forgive you and He will! Our wrong actions can be called “bad,” but you, a child in God’s family, are not bad. God will always love you, and He will help you do what’s right.”

One of the best parts of the class came at the end. Parents trickled in, one by one, so that I had time to give each one a recap of the Big Question and the Big Answer. I’m praying that parents can use these same words and assurances of God’s love as they guide and direct their kids in following Jesus.

“When are some times you hear Bible stories?” I asked my preschool class last Sunday. One young girl quickly responded by shaking her head and saying, “I don’t really do that very much.” I was saddened at the reply, but at the same time very grateful for her honest response.

“How many of you have a Bible at home that’s just your own?” I asked.

Every child replied with “I do.” Some eager children even started trying to top the others by saying, “I have three Bibles.” “Well, I have five Bibles!” Trying to get a word in, I said, “That’s great! I’m glad you have so many Bibles at your house. And do you know what you can do? Every night before you go to bed, you can ask your mom or dad to read a story from the Bible to you. Bedtime is a great time to read God’s words to us.” And then I asked, “What do we do every Sunday at church together?” They all got the answer to that question: “We hear Bible stories!”

This conversation reminded me of several things:

• Encouraging kids and welcoming them to Sunday School is so important because it just might be the only time during the whole week when they hear the words of God in Bible stories and verses.

• Parents still struggle with finding time in their lives to communicate and teach Bible truths.

I want to take advantage of every opportunity to share God’s Word with kids and parents. That’s why I give a copy of God’s Story for Me Bible Storybook to kids who don’t have a Bible. I love that every story ends with a Connection Circle—words for parents to say about how the story connects to a child’s daily life.

This week, I think I’ll pray for each child in my class and ask God to bring His Word into the hearts and minds of each family—on Sundays and every day of the week!

“But Teacher, I don’t even want him SITTING by my castle!”
“Look, he’s only (long pause while the distance is estimated) 11 inches away from MY castle.”

Right there in the block corner, two boys were focused more on keeping each other away from their buildings than they were on actually building their structures. Both of these boys have been told by parents and teachers alike to share their toys, share their snacks, share the cars and trucks, share the crayons—well, you get the idea!

We all know that learning to share isn’t something that comes naturally to a young child. So how do we as teachers of preschoolers handle this dilemma? And how do we connect the sharing struggles with the lessons we are teaching?

First of all, I recognize that a child isn’t “bad” because he or she isn’t an expert at sharing. (After all, I know some adults who aren’t so accomplished at sharing, too!) I try to remember that each child is in the process of developing the skills that will help them get along with others.

Secondly, while I sometimes think I can avoid the arguments over toys by simply providing enough of the toys, blocks or markers for every child to have his or her own, I know that helping kids practice taking turns is a good thing. So when we’re gluing, I set out one glue stick for each pair of children. In the same way, the bin of blocks is shared by several kids, and the toy boats are divided evenly. My goal is not only to provide opportunities for kids to share but to also have enough of the item so that kids don’t have to wait too long for a turn.

Third, I take advantage of the opportunity to teach God’s Word. Today our Bible story was about Jeremiah and Baruch writing God’s Word, and that God’s Word teaches us ways to love and obey God. So in conversation with my castle builders, it worked out great to say, “God’s Word tells us so many ways to love and obey God! One of those ways is to share with each other. That’s what you’re learning to do today. I know you’ll both be careful as you build.”

I’m sure there will be many times when I repeat the words, “In Sunday School, the toys are for everyone! We take turns and share.” But I’m also glad for the opportunity to be one of the people who get to play even a small role in helping kids in the early stages of growing up to “love their neighbors as themselves” (Matthew 22:39).

This past Sunday I was given the opportunity to tell a Bible story to just about 40 preschoolers! That’s not the way we usually do things at my church, but it was our VBS Closing Program Sunday so the schedule and the numbers were very different. What fun it was! But I admit that I was pretty nervous about trying to keep the attention of that many active little children, so I prepared and prayed more than usual. Here are some things I discovered:

1. Trying to get little kids to come and sit down and wait quietly until everyone has gathered is a losing proposition. Fortunately, I had my friendly VBS Puppet Sandy Seal who was ready to lead the kids as they gathered in a game of Sandy Says—just like Simon Says only no one gets out.

2. Having several story props hidden in a bag creates a lot of interest. Removing the props one at a time helped to keep the kids’ interest throughout the story. Yesterday, the first “prop” I brought out was my Bible because I like to emphasize that the story I’m telling isn’t a made-up story or a story about pretend people. It’s a real story—a true story from God’s Word.

3. Sometimes with a lot of kids who are talking, I start talking louder and louder and hope that they will hear me over all the noise! But yesterday, I remembered that talking quieter—and even whispering when it’s appropriate in the story—is a pretty good way of getting kids to pay attention to my words. (We even tried repeating some words from the story without making any sound at all! I think the kids liked that the best!)

4. Shorter is better than longer! Bible stories are wonderful because there are always so many good things to say about what can be learned from God’s Word. But with preschoolers (and even older kids), limiting the length of the Bible story time is best. It’s tempting for me to want to tell everything I know about a story—so I keep a close eye on the clock. And if I can’t see the clock—the kids’ behavior lets me know when time is running out!

5. Last, but not least! I really appreciated the other leaders in the room who sat right down on the floor with the kids and followed along with the story—making the motions, repeating the words, and redirecting kids when needed.

I’m glad I’m not telling the story to 40 kids every week! But I’m hoping that the words of yesterday’s story stick with the kids, and I’m thankful for preparation and answered prayer!

Our pastor’s wife presented the Children’s Message in church on Sunday morning. Since it was Fathers’ Day, she first invited the children to share things their fathers are good at, Answers included “running,” “fixing things,” “making cookies” and “giving hugs.” A great start!

Next she asked the children to tell something their dads do when they go to work. This seemed a bit more of a challenge, with some vague answers like “work,” “go to the office” and “use a computer.” But then one child said “saves babies’ lives,” and it seemed like no one thought they could give a better answer than that!

Then the children were asked to think of other men in our church who were also like fathers to them--men who had helped them, taught them, or showed kindness to them. “Who are some men you know in our church who are like that?” she asked. Almost in unison, the shout went up, “Lyle!” And the congregation cheered.

Lyle is a great big burly guy who doesn’t teach Sunday School, nor does he work in other children’s programs. Lyle is a Greeter! He welcomes people as they arrive to church; and in particular he welcomes the children. I’ve seen other greeters who would reach their hand over a child’s head to shake hands with a mom or dad or hand them a bulletin, almost as though the child was invisible. Lyle greets the children by name. He gives them high fives and fist bumps, always accompanied by a huge smile and a big laugh. Lyle makes each child feel special and welcome.

Sometimes I wonder if maybe the welcomes that Lyle gives outside the front doors of the church might even be more effective in influencing our children than the lessons we prepare and present in class. Fortunately, it’s not an either/or situation! God provides the Gifts that are needed in the Body; some of us are teachers and then there’s Lyle, the Greeter. And we're all given the privilege of communicating God’s big, wide accepting love to every child.

Are you ready for the wiggles at your church? (And, no, I’m not talking about the singing group so popular with preschoolers!) But watching the young children at my church this week, I saw kids who were not only wiggling, but who were jumping, running, skipping, twirling and playing tag! And none of these actions were part of their teacher’s planned activities. Watching all this action reminded me once again that if I do not plan enough physical activity in a lesson, I spend most of my time trying to get and keep kids’ attention. Educators tell us that meeting a child’s need for physical activity is the foundation for all other learning that takes place in a lesson. And Henrietta Mears, founder of Gospel Light, reminded us that God made children with wiggles—so why do we spend so much time trying to take them out!

So as I prepare a lesson, I ask myself this question: “When and where are kids going to wiggle and move?” I make sure to plan ways that kids can move as they progress through the parts of the lesson. And the younger the kids are, the more time for movement is needed!

Kids first participate in Play to Learn activities—there’s always opportunities to move as they toss a bean bag onto a target, or jump over blocks or follow a path created with sheets of construction paper. Then we move to sit together on the floor in a large group for Listen to Learn. But even during this quieter more focused time, there are still many opportunities for movement. As we sing songs, we clap or play rhythm instruments. One of my favorite methods of involvement during Listen to Learn is to say the words of Bible verses with children and use motions or actions of different kinds. I’ll confess that one reason why I like this kind of involvement is because it doesn’t require any materials to gather or prepare! And it’s something I can do anytime when I observe that children are ready for wiggling! Recently we pretended to climb a tree, crawl through a tunnel and tiptoed through a creek as we repeated the words “The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). And by this time in the year, the oldest children love to suggest their own motions for words in the verses: claps, finger snaps, stamps—and twirling—are all their favorites. We end our lesson with Talk to Learn, which not only includes moving to a table for a fun activity page, but also includes a game such as Pin the Tail on the Camel for a story about Joseph or finding Bible story figures hidden under paper plates.

Children will be active and move whether we plan it or not, so I prefer to be the one in charge of what kind of activity takes place. I pray that God will help me use their wiggles to help kids learn about Jesus!

The idea of “if you can play, you can teach” almost sounds too simple to be true. Can we really make a difference in children’s lives by playing with them? Don’t you have to be an early childhood expert, or a really dramatic storyteller to teach kids the Bible? Don’t you need to have some special training? Or be a preschool teacher?

Well, research tells us no. The biggest emphasis in research these days is the value of play in children’s learning. So, if you can play—you CAN teach. One article I read said that play is a “power boost” for early learning. Another article stated that: “Young children must move to learn.”

The big picture is that the early years are a window for development—more learning is happening in these years than in any other span of years. And it happens when children are involved and active—when they are playing. That’s why it’s often been said, “Play is the child’s work.”

In the class I’ve taught this year, here’s how we make it happen. First of all, we prepare. Each teacher prepares one of the activities in the curriculum (art and games are usually our kids’ favorites). Plus, we usually have blocks and dramatic play available. The kids move between the activities, and the teachers play and talk with them. (Yes, we resist the temptation to be talking to each other or to other people who pass by our classroom.) But more than just playing, we are connecting the child’s activity to the lesson’s Bible story or verse. We use the comments and questions right in the curriculum.

I sometimes fall in the trap of thinking that the time when children learn the most is when I’m telling the Bible story. But in reality children are learning during the entire session. From the time they walk through the door to the time they leave, they are learning. What an opportunity!