Play! Listen! Talk!

Sheryl Haystead, beloved wife, mother and friend slipped into the presence of God the evening of January 6, 2012. Sheryl had been diagnosed with cancer of the liver just after Christmas, and was kept quietly sedated in the ICU until it was certain that she could not recover.

Sheryl always loved children: her own, her grandchildren and those she taught in Sunday School every week at her church. For over 35 years, she served children’s ministries around the world by writing, editing and creating curriculum for Gospel Light Publications. She has trained teachers across this country and abroad; she dedicated her life to drawing children to Jesus. She was a quiet hero of the faith. Many thousands of children and teachers have been impacted by an activity she created, by an inspirational word she gave at a workshop or through a book she wrote (such as How to Have a Great Sunday School, and many more). She loved talking to those who are in ministry and always said that teachers were the ones who inspired her to keep going! But she and her work profoundly inspired many others.

Sheryl began her career with Gospel Light in 1974 as an editorial assistant and after only three months was promoted to Associate Editor. In 1977 Sheryl became the Assistant to the Managing Editor and in 1978 she was promoted to Editor. During the next few years, Sheryl left Gospel Light to start her family and began working in a freelance capacity until 1997 when she rejoined Gospel Light as a Senior Editor. In 2001, Sheryl was promoted to Managing Editor and in 2004 she was promoted to Senior Managing Editor. Donna Lucas, Publishing Director at Gospel Light said, “Sheryl was a light for us, a rock to our publishing team and a teacher to so many of us; interestingly, these are all words she would use to describe Jesus her Savior. She has taught us by example how to be the best for Christ. We will all miss her deeply.” When Jesus spoke with a woman whose brother had died, Jesus comforted her as she mourned saying, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying." (John 11:25, NLT)

Sheryl is survived by her husband and ministry partner, Wes, her sons Andrew and Jon, her step-daughter, Karen Duzy, son-in-law, Dave Duzy, daughter-in-law, Becky, plus five grandchildren: Samantha, Abigail, Jayce, Penelope, and Anya, each of whom she cherished. She is also survived by her brother Marvin Hamstad and sister, Arlene Bishop.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Children’s Ministry of Eastminster Presbyterian Church, honoring Sheryl’s lifelong love for serving children.

If you have a message for Sheryl's family, please send it to Donna Lucas at donna.lucas@gospellight.com

“Oh, no!” I thought as I looked at the prep needed for this Sunday’s art activity. “I’ve got to cut a bunch of little paper circles to make ornaments.” What a bother! But I know how much kids love to glue and create, so I gathered up some paper and went to work tracing circles. It was mindless work!

But as my mind wandered, I started thinking of the kids in my class. As I thought of each one, I started praying that he or she would come and that I would have an opportunity to share God’s Word in meaningful ways. As I prayed, the prep work went amazingly fast! (I ended up tracing a circle pattern from a drinking glass, but I decided to let the kids cut out their own ornaments.)

God answered my prayers when a little girl came who had been absent for several weeks. God’s Word was shared as we talked about God’s love. We wrote down the names of every child in the class. When we said our Bible verse, "God loves us and sent his Son," we said our names instead of the word "us." Even better, we demonstrated God’s love—even as a young boy needed extra encouragement to listen when others were talking.

Too often I resolve to pray for each child during the week, but end up putting my resolve aside. But now, I think my prep time will be known as “prep and pray time.” Just what I need, and just what the kids in my class need, too.

Do you sometimes skip over the first page of the lesson and just get right to the Bible story or the activities you will be leading? I have that tendency, too! But as I looked at the lesson overview for this week, I saw that the verse was “Be kind to everyone.” At first I thought, “That again? Don’t we teach that all the time to kids? Didn’t we just teach about doing good to all people last week? Why isn’t there something fresh and different to teach about?”

But then I realized something: here is where it starts. Here is where we build the foundation of how God wants people to give and receive love—the love He gives to us in so many ways. We hear so much talk these days about kids who grow up either being bullied or bullying others. Our hearts ache for children who are teased endlessly and persecuted by their peers. As I thought about this, all at once these lessons took on a much greater significance. This is my God-given opportunity to nurture loving and kind and good relationships between children.

So how do we go about “teaching” good relationships? I think it happens when we connect God’s Word to real-life actions. So as we made King David puppets, or tossed bean bags onto pictures of people, the class not only talked about how to “be kind,” but we teachers modeled it—and we affirmed kids who practiced it. One of my favorite parts was when a kindergartner asked if he could take home the paper on which we had written the names of people we could be kind to. “We asked God to help us be kind to all these people,” I told his mom when she arrived at dismissal time. And I told all the parents, “We talked about being kind today—just like King David was. It’s worth talking about at home, too!”

As the class of preschoolers ended today, big brothers and sisters slipped into the classroom while parents chatted. The attention of the older kids was immediately hooked by the fun art activity the preschoolers had experienced. The preschool teacher had put a variety of colorful substances into re-sealable baggies (double sealed with masking tape!). There were bags of ketchup, mustard and chocolate pudding. The preschoolers and big kids both had so much fun drawing designs with their fingers, writing letters, swirling and smoothing out the bags—and all without a bit of mess!

Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that in this high-tech world, kids need electronics to keep their attention. But for the kids I observed today, the adventure of creating and discovering was all the fun they needed. Children are small scientists: for them, art materials are not a means to make a pretty product by adult standards, but the means to discover what happens when materials are arranged and rearranged again and again.

God is the author of such creativity! He has given each child the capacity to create and express. Occasionally, a child will ask, “Can you draw it for me?” A wise teacher once told me her response to such a question: “I don’t know how to make the one you are thinking about.” Value each child’s creativity—and look for ways you can nurture and encourage the unique way God has made each young child in your care.

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!

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!

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.

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.”

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!

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!

“Knowing Jesus is alive is even better than getting candy in your Easter egg,” the leader at church enthusiastically proclaimed. “I’d rather have chocolate,” was one young girl’s quick response. She’s eaten chocolate and loved it! But her understanding of the words “alive” and “dead” is limited by her experience. It reminded me of another young boy who when asked if Jesus was real answered, “The Easter bunny is real. Jesus isn’t real.” He probably had just posed for pictures with the Easter bunny at the mall, but he had never seen Jesus.

These stories remind me once again that the young child’s understanding is based on what he or she can see and touch. When children repeat words that sound like they understand something, it’s easy to assume that they know the concepts behind the words. But these Easter Sunday stories are clear examples of the limited understanding of a young child. And that’s OK! It’s OK for a child to be a child. It’s OK for a child to like chocolate! Our role in teaching is to be a part of that wonderful process of discovery and learning in the lives of young children. It’s fun to teach a kid how things in the world work—what floats and what doesn’t, or how gravity works. But do you know what’s even better? Getting to be someone who teaches a kid how things work in God’s kingdom! When a young child doesn’t yet understand where Jesus is, the child will definitely understand the love of Jesus that I show him or her. When a child wonders why I’m praying to someone the child can’t see, the child, by hearing my prayers, will develop awareness that Jesus is someone I thank and on whom I depend. Sunday after Sunday, the Bible stories I teach, the Bible verses I repeat, the songs about Jesus I sing are planting the truth about Jesus into children’s lives. I know that God is at work in the life of each child, bringing each seed to harvest at just the right time.

Today I was a “guest teacher” (the preferred way of describing a substitute!) for the third-fifth graders at my church. You might wonder how a teacher of preschoolers would survive teaching elementary kids! At the start, I wondered that too! But while many things were different, I found one thing to be the same: You can never predict what a child is going to say! You know that moment when you’ve just said the main point of the lesson and you think kids are really tracking with you? Often, many of them are following along with you, but there’s always some who are off in their own world. For example, today one of the kids in the class I was teaching found it interesting, just as I was inviting the group to pray with me, to comment that two of the kids’ names were part of Bible words such as “hosanna” and “Philippians.” (Can you find the names?) And isn’t it true that when you teach preschoolers, you have the most interesting conversations about things that have nothing to do with the Bible verse or the Bible story? With preschoolers, it’s often a story of their pet, or a birthday party or a new toy. So what does a teacher of any age do or say when a child wants to talk about something off the track of where your lesson is headed? The best answer I can think of is this: Listen! I listen because sometimes there is a way to connect the child’s comment with the lesson. I listen because sometimes I think kids just need to be listened to. I listen because I care what’s going on in each kid’s mind—and because I’m building relationships with kids for the long term. Actively listening to kids most of the time gives me the ability to say once in a while “My turn for a few more minutes and then you can ask your question.” Or “You’re really excited about that party—tell me about it at the end of our story time.” Don’t you appreciate it when your friends listen to you? I think kids appreciate it, too!

One teacher recently described preschoolers as a swarm of bees. One child finds something interesting to do which causes all the other kids to want to swarm over to the interesting activity, too! In thinking about the ups and downs of life in a room full of preschoolers, I started wondering, “What is it that every teacher of preschoolers needs to know in order to be an effective teacher of what it means to follow Jesus?” How would you answer that question? Some of us might say— “Be prepared!” “Let kids know that the stories in the Bible are true—not make believe.” “Be patient and give lots of love and affection.” “Follow a routine so that the kids know what to expect.” “Pray for each child in your class.” “Remember kids have short attention spans.” “Give each child lots of individual attention.” “Establish a few basic rules.” After church today, I asked an experienced Sunday School teacher this same question: “What’s something every teacher of preschoolers ought to know?” The answer my teacher friend gave was this: “Keep something going on all the time. Don’t let the kids get bored!” This teacher has learned from experience what results when kids are left to their own devices to find something interesting to do! Wise teachers are one step ahead of kids so that the next fun, engaging activity begins BEFORE the kids start looking for something to do. This means that while I’m finishing up the Play to Learn activities, my co-teacher is beginning the Listen to Learn activities. There’s nothing like a fun puppet script, energetic repetitions of the Bible verse or an active song to motivate kids to finish up what they’ve been doing! I love this idea of being one step ahead! And the more I think about it, the biggest step ahead I can take for next Sunday is starting today to pray for the kids I’ll be teaching next week. To help me remember to pray this week, I’m making a list of prayer requests (and checking it twice!). And I’m asking God to help me plan and prepare in such a way that I’m one step ahead!

This probably hasn’t ever happened in your class, but sometimes when I’m leading kids in a Play to Learn activity that involves beanbags, it doesn’t take much for some energetic throwing to take place! Here’s what I try to do—before and during the game. Before the game, I make sure to demonstrate the kind of tossing we are going to do and why. For example, in this week’s lesson: “Let’s see how many of you can toss the beanbag into the circle. When it lands in the circle, we get to say something we want to thank God for.” Most often, the challenge of getting the beanbag into the circle target is motivation for careful tossing. (And for the kindergartner who always says “That’s so easy!” no matter what the activity is, I give him a special challenge of taking two giant steps back before tossing the beanbag.) During the game, if a beanbag sails across the room, I’m careful to treat it as a simple action to be corrected. “Oops, that beanbag didn’t go where it was supposed to. Let’s try again.” If a child purposefully throws the beanbag in a wrong way, then it’s time for “I really want you to keep playing the game. So to keep playing, you need to toss the beanbag into the circle.” Sometimes, just before the child's turn to toss the beanbag, a gentle touch on the child’s hand is a helpful reminder and no words need to be spoken. And, of course, every beanbag that makes it into the circle is accompanied by enthusiastic clapping and cheering! Games for preschoolers are best when there isn’t too long of a wait to get a turn and when every child can be successful. Games are favorite activities with the kids at my church! I’m thankful for the games, too, because they help me connect with active kids and give lots of opportunities for building relationships. What’s your favorite game to play with preschoolers?