Play! Listen! Talk!

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.”