Oftentimes, I am
amazed at how much children learn.
The key is to present it in a way that is so memorable, they will never
forget! I am a firm believer that all
Sunday School teachers and assistants should take their responsibility
seriously. Perhaps, the only time these
children learn Bible stories and lessons, is when we teach these biblical
lessons to them.
There are
definitely some parents who are wonderful about sharing stories from the Bible
with their children and quizzing them about God’s Word. They invite their children to say their own
personal prayers, to talk with God and build a real relationship with Him.
This is all great
and it is wonderful to see these children excited to learn more about God, but
what about children who have never heard about Him? Who have never been taught to pray? You start building the foundation from the
ground up. It begins with the most basic
of Bible stories and perhaps the most important: creation; Jesus’ birth, death,
and resurrection; and how to accept Jesus into their own heart. From there you continue to build.
Once you lay the
ground work you encourage them to continue reading their Bibles or look at
their Bible books at home. Encourage
them to share what they learn with their parents, and ask them questions. Of course, this is not always easy which is
why you should enter into it all prayerfully.
I still remember
one of the first Sunday School lessons I ever taught. I was going to tell the story of Ruth and
Boaz. The beginning of the week I typed
out everything I was going to say, I got the art project together, and set up
the flannel board. Everything was ready, and yet I entered the room with some nervousness. How would the children receive this lesson? How could I make it meaningful to them?
Anyone who knows
me well, knows that I get nervous when speaking to groups of people, even if it is children. Rather
than focus on my discomfort, I try my hardest to present the lesson in a way
that will make the lesson come alive for them.
As the children
filed in, I smiled nervously at them and took my place at the front of the
class. After opening up our Sunday
School with a prayer I began the lesson.
It was my intention to add and remove pieces on the flannel board to
illustrate the lesson I was to present.
I wasn’t far into my lesson before a flannel piece fell to the ground. I picked it up and stuck it back on the board
only to have a different piece fall down.
For the rest of
the Sunday School lesson I was busy trying to keep the flannel pieces on the
board and teach the lesson while offering assistance in the art project we were
working on. My efforts were punctuated by
one little boy announcing that another piece had just fallen from the board.
At last we were
dismissed and the children filed out to join their parents for the
service. I looked around at the empty
room, the flannel pieces on the ground, and the bits of colored paper strewed
across the table. Shaking my head, at
what I perceived a failure I left. After
service the little boy who had interrupted with periodic announcements that the
pieces were falling down, followed me back to the room as I began to clean
everything up.
“I really liked
the story.”
I was surprised,
“You did?”
He watched me pick
up the pieces of the flannel off the ground.
He smiled with a bit of mischievousness in his eyes. “Everything kept falling down.”
I had to smile too
as I watched him take the picture he had colored and go show his parents. I was encouraged to see that he was excited
to show them what he had learned, even though he probably told them about all
the flannel pieces falling down. :)
Since then, I have
developed more confidence and am able to present lessons effectively with
minimum disasters. This hasn’t always
been easy. Giving children any kind of
item requires almost your full supervision.
When giving them scissors you have to watch to see they don’t cut
anything they’re not supposed to (hair, clothes, the table, their chairs). Giving them glue, you should always have wet
rags on hand and avoid glitter whenever possible (it literally gets
everywhere).
A Sunday School Teacher definitely have an altogether different perspective on the coloring devices most would call innocent. I would definitely advice not to leave any marker or crayon unattended. My sister once
found that a little boy had sucked a marker dry. His lips and tongue were blue despite her
efforts of washing him, I could only imagine his mother's look of disbelief when her little boy emerged grinning with blue teeth! And the little wax crayons? Not only are they difficult to get off tables, chairs, and walls... some children find them irresistible snacks.
I have been
blessed to have some young ladies in the church as assistants. They help with the projects: cutting, gluing,
coloring, etc. while I present the lesson.
This makes things a lot easier on me and gives me more of an opportunity
to focus on the lesson rather than trying to help them water paint, or prevent them from gluing their hand to the table.
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| Our art project during the Sunday School lesson of Gideon building an alter to God using wood from the pagan grove his father owned. |
I am a creative person
and this has come in handy when presenting my lessons. To illustrate the story of Jesus turning the
water into wine I had red food coloring and little cups of water. The children took turns turning their water red, and had a lot of fun. It was
definitely memorable. Another time we
were talking about the pearl of great price.
They each made their own pearl from modeling clay which dried into a
smooth white. These were taken home in
little felt bags I had sewn for them the day before, tied with gold or silver
ribbon.
 |
| When Gideon went to battle, he had his men carry a pitcher, torch, and trumpet. |
When we talked
about Jesus planting seeds into good ground (our hearts) we made some paper
mulch, shaped it into a heart and put some seeds on top. When they were slipped into the ground, the
seeds sprouted. Another time we made
fish and glued a large gold coin in their mouth for the story of Peter catching
the fish and finding money enough to pay taxes.
Through the years
we’ve gained more children and said good-bye to others. It is an ever changing group and you can
never be sure just how many will come.
Sometimes we’ll have close to fifteen in our class and other times, only
two. The main thing is not to get
discouraged and just focus on planting those seeds! God will bring the increase. Who knows?
Maybe the seed that was planted during the time they attended a Sunday
School lesson will take root and grow much later down the road. J
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| When different cities refused to give bread to Gideon's army, Gideon promised to punish them. |
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| Behind the tower Gideon destroyed is a thorn and brier patch, it was part of the punishment. |
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