Newsletter 17
Newsletter 17.
Contents.
Overcoming discipline problems - by making your lessons fun and exciting.
Teaching Tip 3. (For use with the David and Goliath story).
O.L. 39. Wrestling match (Defeating Giants).
O.L. 40. Samson pad (Defeating Giants).
5 things I have learned about Kids. by Karl Bastian.
Welcome to my latest Newsletter, and an especially warm welcome to all the new recipients following my recent posting on the Sunday School Teacher's Network (SSTN). I write these Newsletters in the hope that you will be better equipped to minister God's love to children. My prayer therefore is that you will find something here to benefit your ministry.
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and consequently so is the busiest time of the year for my ministry of sharing the Gospel at Churches, School Assemblies, Camps etc. As usual, I am looking forward to this time with great anticipation, but this also means that this will probably be my last Newsletter of 2003.
I look forward to sharing with you again in the New Year.
Maurice Sweetsur.
Overcoming discipline problems - by making your lessons fun and exciting.
There has been much written about how best to discipline 'problem' classes. I certainly don't profess to be an expert on the subject, but I would like to share my own experience in the hope that it will be a help to you.
When I first started teaching Bible classes, I had my share of discipline problems, especially from the older boys. I soon realised, however, that many children were causing trouble simply because they were bored with my lessons!
I therefore determined to make my lessons more fun and exciting. I believe that this is something we must all do, otherwise many of the children - even if they don't actually misbehave - will simply "turn off." Fortunately, there are many ways we can do this. Here are a few suggestions.
Tell familiar stories from unusual angles, to keep the children guessing. e.g. The Good Samaritan from the point of view of the donkey, Daniel, from a lion's viewpoint, Jonah, as seen by the large fish, David and Goliath from the Giant's perspective. (Don't mention the Giant's name till the end - to keep your class wondering!). etc etc.
If your class is well behaved, use skits involving the children - most Bible stories can be adapted to be told in this way. If your class cannot be trusted to do this properly, use puppet skits. I record the skit beforehand, and get children to operate the puppets. Check out www.puppetresources.com for an extensive array of skits.
Use ventriloquism.You don't need a special dummy. A hand puppet will do. And you don't have to be expert. If you use good material, the children will love it, and won't mind if they see your mouth moving a little.
Teach memory verses in lots of different ways. The number is only limited by your own imagination.
Review your teaching with quizzes. Noughts and crosses (tic tac toe) is a popular way to do this.
Dress up as a Bible character, and tell his/her story with a monologue. Nebuchadnezzar, telling about the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace, and the cripple who was brought to Jesus by his four friends, have worked well for me.
Use lots of object lessons to illustrate your teaching points. Better still, use illusions, which are essentially object lessons with "special effects." Many illusions are very easy to do, but will still baffle your class. Two excellent sources of illusions are www.childrensministry.org and www.onewaystreet.com (which also has an excellent range of ventriloquism skits). Also, many illusions, especially those involving paper cutting or ropes, cost nothing to do.
Result ? I can now say that I rarely have any discipline problems. I don't think this is because my present classes have generally better behaved children in them, but rather because I am now better able to keep their attention.
I am not saying that we should abandon our programs so as to keep the children entertained, but if they are not happy, they won't learn much anyway and will be put off the church in later years. We can still teach our programs, but we should all be continually searching for more interesting and exciting ways to do it. We owe this both to our children and to the Lord.
Teaching Tips.
3. David and Goliath.
The following is not meant to be a lesson plan, but rather a number of ideas that you may wish to incorporate into any lesson about David and Goliath.
Story. Using my imagination, I usually tell this story from how the Giant (I don't mention his name till near the end) might have seen things - e.g. a huge, strong, man loved fighting, so he joined his country's army and soon became their "Champion." His country went to war with their deadliest enemies, but the giant had a good idea - that he should challenge the enemy's champion to do battle in single combat, with the losing side having to surrender to the victors. With the approval of his King, this he did. - - - - - - - - Eventually someone came out to challenge the giant, but his joy at the prospect of a fight soon turned to disgust when he saw that it was only a boy that was confronting him.
Skit. I then perform a fun skit, playing both parts myself by running from left to right as the two combatants confront each other. When I am the giant, I put on a crown hat marked "Champion", pick up a cardboard sword, and use a deep booming voice. For the boy, I put on a cap, and use a little squeaky voice. Here is some suggested dialogue, but the important thing is to really "throw" yourself into the two characters. Children love it when you overact.
Giant. "Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks. Are you going to beat me with your sticks? Why, I am going to chop your head off, and feed your body to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field."
Boy. "You come against me with a sword and a spear, but I come against you in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and - - - and - - - and - - - and I'm going to chop your head off, and feed your body to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field - so there!"
Giant. " Why you cheeky young rascal, I'm going to whip you.
Boy. "No you're not. I'm going to whip you."
Giant. "I'm going to thrash you."
Boy. "No. I'm going to thrash you."
Giant. "Oh yes. You and whose army?"
Boy. "Just me and the Lord God of Israel. We are going to thrash you together."
Giant. "Your God won't be able to help you against me. Don't you realise who I am? I am the biggest. I am the greatest. I am the strongest. No one can beat me."
Boy. " Well, me and my God are going to beat you."
Giant. "That's enough of your cheek (lifting up his sword), prepare to die right now."
The giant took a stride forwards, but the boy reached down, picked up a stone, put it in his sling. The sling went round and round, the stone flew out and hit Goliath (because that was the Giant's name of course) on the forehead. Goliath crashed to the ground, David (the boy's name of course) picked up Goliath's sword and slew him.
And that day, David and the Israelites won a great victory over Goliath and the Philistines.
Question. How was it that David could defeat the giant? Was he bigger than Goliath? No. Was he stronger than Goliath? No. Had he got better weapons than Goliath? No. The answer is that he defeated the giant because he remembered that God was on his side, Interestingly, God was also on the side of the other Israelite soldiers - they were part of God's Special people -, but it didn't do them any good because they forgot that! When they looked at Goliath, all they saw was a giant - a big problem. When David came along, he saw that Goliath was big, but he also remembered that his God was far, far, bigger!
Defeating Giants. At this point I use my Object lesson No. 6, Defeating giants, using the two curved cards to help the children understand that with God on their side, they can also defeat any giants in their lives.
Throwing your giants on Jesus. I usually teach 1 Peter 5 v. 7 - "Throw all your worries on him, because he cares for you." in connection with this story. I explain that there are many "giants" or worries that people have in their lives, e.g. another person who is giving them a hard time, a bad habit, or a fear (e.g. of the dark, nightmares, flying, dying, snakes, spiders, dogs etc.). I get the children to write out the names of their giant(s) on a piece of paper. Then, as I lead them in prayer, at the appropriate time, I get them to crumple up their papers (giants) and throw them on Jesus - imagining Him to be standing at the front of the class. Conclude by emphasising that because Jesus now has their giants, they have them no more.
Object Lesson 39. - Wrestling match. I invite one of the bigger boys to come out for a wrestling match. I explain that it is a "handicap" match - all of him against my little thumb! My volunteer can use both hands, and all he has to do is wrestle my little thumb to the ground! After he has failed to do that, ask "Why wasn't that big boy able to defeat my little thumb?" Answer. Because my thumb, small as it is, is attached to something far bigger - it is attached to me! Remind the children that if they are trusting in Jesus, they are actually attached to God, and no matter how big their "giant" may appear, they will be able to overcome it because God is far, far bigger.
Object Lesson 40. - Samson pad. These are pieces of white plastic, but they look and feel like cardboard. They can be obtained from www.onewaystreet.com . Take one plastic sheet and one ordinary cardboard sheet (which comes in the same pack), and write on each "GIANT". The two sheets should look identical. Give the cardboard sheet to a small girl, and the plastic sheet to a big boy. Explain that we are going to imagine that both the volunteers have giants to overcome. God is on the side of both of them, but one - and you are not saying which - is like David, and has remembered that. The other is like the other Israelite soldiers who forgot that, and so were afraid of the giant.
Ask the volunteers to defeat their "giants" by ripping up the 'cardboard' into small pieces. It will soon be obvious which one is like David.
Puppet Script. A "fun" play "David and Goliath" can be found on www.puppetresources.com . It is well worth a look. As with all scripts, you don't have to use it exactly as written, but you can adapt it to suit your particular class of children.
5 things I have learned about Kids.
by
Karl Bastian (The Kidologist)
1. STOP WHILE THEY STILL LIKE IT!
Often when kid's workers find something the kids like, they use it until the kids are tired of it and then can never use it again! Kids determine whether they like something or not by the last remembered feeling associated with the activity. So if it got old - they remember being tired of it. But if you quit while they like it - they will cheer when you go to do it again!
2. ASK FOR GUESSES, NOT ANSWERS!
A guess is always good, no matter how far from correct it may be! I once had a little boy who always said "Moses" to every question I asked, so finally I 'rigged' the questions and asked, to whom did God give the ten commandments?...... he thought really hard and said "Jesus?" I will never forget the crushed look on his face when I said, "No, it was Moses." It was a powerful lesson - now I ask for guesses and can always say - "Great guess" (and give a reason why) and then move on for another 'guess'.
3. KIDS ACCEPT PUPPETS FASTER THAN PEOPLE
The reason I use Gus (or The Fuzz or Molly, or Wally, or one of many others) is that kids quickly accept and love puppets (if they are presented as being real and not a toy). Then they accept you as a 'friend of the puppet.' Just THIS WEEK a mom said that she asked her daughter, "So how do you like Karl, the new Kid's Pastor?" She replied, "I don't know him that well yet, but Gus is really cool, and funny, so I guess I do like Karl."
4. BIRTHDAYS ARE IMPORTANT
Probably true of adults too, but there are few things that mean as much to a kid as you remembering his/her birthday and celebrating it. That is why I have a HUGE birthday party for myself each year - sounds kinda selfish or strange, but the kids really relate to it! We had 95 kids at a Tunnels of Fun place this past month, and the kids really enjoyed it. I also send out birthday cards and call every kid on their birthday - it takes effort, but the payoff is a much closer relationship with the kids.
5. KNOWING A KID'S WORLD IS A KEY TO GETTING TO THEIR HEART!
When you have played Nintendo 64 - jumped on their trampoline (and hurt your back!) - have your own virtual pet - take them to the Children's Museum downtown - display toys in your office - you show kids that their world is important to you, and suddenly YOUR WORLD (including Jesus and God's Word) becomes important to them!
Contents.
Overcoming discipline problems - by making your lessons fun and exciting.
Teaching Tip 3. (For use with the David and Goliath story).
O.L. 39. Wrestling match (Defeating Giants).
O.L. 40. Samson pad (Defeating Giants).
5 things I have learned about Kids. by Karl Bastian.
Welcome to my latest Newsletter, and an especially warm welcome to all the new recipients following my recent posting on the Sunday School Teacher's Network (SSTN). I write these Newsletters in the hope that you will be better equipped to minister God's love to children. My prayer therefore is that you will find something here to benefit your ministry.
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and consequently so is the busiest time of the year for my ministry of sharing the Gospel at Churches, School Assemblies, Camps etc. As usual, I am looking forward to this time with great anticipation, but this also means that this will probably be my last Newsletter of 2003.
I look forward to sharing with you again in the New Year.
Maurice Sweetsur.
Overcoming discipline problems - by making your lessons fun and exciting.
There has been much written about how best to discipline 'problem' classes. I certainly don't profess to be an expert on the subject, but I would like to share my own experience in the hope that it will be a help to you.
When I first started teaching Bible classes, I had my share of discipline problems, especially from the older boys. I soon realised, however, that many children were causing trouble simply because they were bored with my lessons!
I therefore determined to make my lessons more fun and exciting. I believe that this is something we must all do, otherwise many of the children - even if they don't actually misbehave - will simply "turn off." Fortunately, there are many ways we can do this. Here are a few suggestions.
Tell familiar stories from unusual angles, to keep the children guessing. e.g. The Good Samaritan from the point of view of the donkey, Daniel, from a lion's viewpoint, Jonah, as seen by the large fish, David and Goliath from the Giant's perspective. (Don't mention the Giant's name till the end - to keep your class wondering!). etc etc.
If your class is well behaved, use skits involving the children - most Bible stories can be adapted to be told in this way. If your class cannot be trusted to do this properly, use puppet skits. I record the skit beforehand, and get children to operate the puppets. Check out www.puppetresources.com for an extensive array of skits.
Use ventriloquism.You don't need a special dummy. A hand puppet will do. And you don't have to be expert. If you use good material, the children will love it, and won't mind if they see your mouth moving a little.
Teach memory verses in lots of different ways. The number is only limited by your own imagination.
Review your teaching with quizzes. Noughts and crosses (tic tac toe) is a popular way to do this.
Dress up as a Bible character, and tell his/her story with a monologue. Nebuchadnezzar, telling about the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace, and the cripple who was brought to Jesus by his four friends, have worked well for me.
Use lots of object lessons to illustrate your teaching points. Better still, use illusions, which are essentially object lessons with "special effects." Many illusions are very easy to do, but will still baffle your class. Two excellent sources of illusions are www.childrensministry.org and www.onewaystreet.com (which also has an excellent range of ventriloquism skits). Also, many illusions, especially those involving paper cutting or ropes, cost nothing to do.
Result ? I can now say that I rarely have any discipline problems. I don't think this is because my present classes have generally better behaved children in them, but rather because I am now better able to keep their attention.
I am not saying that we should abandon our programs so as to keep the children entertained, but if they are not happy, they won't learn much anyway and will be put off the church in later years. We can still teach our programs, but we should all be continually searching for more interesting and exciting ways to do it. We owe this both to our children and to the Lord.
Teaching Tips.
3. David and Goliath.
The following is not meant to be a lesson plan, but rather a number of ideas that you may wish to incorporate into any lesson about David and Goliath.
Story. Using my imagination, I usually tell this story from how the Giant (I don't mention his name till near the end) might have seen things - e.g. a huge, strong, man loved fighting, so he joined his country's army and soon became their "Champion." His country went to war with their deadliest enemies, but the giant had a good idea - that he should challenge the enemy's champion to do battle in single combat, with the losing side having to surrender to the victors. With the approval of his King, this he did. - - - - - - - - Eventually someone came out to challenge the giant, but his joy at the prospect of a fight soon turned to disgust when he saw that it was only a boy that was confronting him.
Skit. I then perform a fun skit, playing both parts myself by running from left to right as the two combatants confront each other. When I am the giant, I put on a crown hat marked "Champion", pick up a cardboard sword, and use a deep booming voice. For the boy, I put on a cap, and use a little squeaky voice. Here is some suggested dialogue, but the important thing is to really "throw" yourself into the two characters. Children love it when you overact.
Giant. "Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks. Are you going to beat me with your sticks? Why, I am going to chop your head off, and feed your body to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field."
Boy. "You come against me with a sword and a spear, but I come against you in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and - - - and - - - and - - - and I'm going to chop your head off, and feed your body to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field - so there!"
Giant. " Why you cheeky young rascal, I'm going to whip you.
Boy. "No you're not. I'm going to whip you."
Giant. "I'm going to thrash you."
Boy. "No. I'm going to thrash you."
Giant. "Oh yes. You and whose army?"
Boy. "Just me and the Lord God of Israel. We are going to thrash you together."
Giant. "Your God won't be able to help you against me. Don't you realise who I am? I am the biggest. I am the greatest. I am the strongest. No one can beat me."
Boy. " Well, me and my God are going to beat you."
Giant. "That's enough of your cheek (lifting up his sword), prepare to die right now."
The giant took a stride forwards, but the boy reached down, picked up a stone, put it in his sling. The sling went round and round, the stone flew out and hit Goliath (because that was the Giant's name of course) on the forehead. Goliath crashed to the ground, David (the boy's name of course) picked up Goliath's sword and slew him.
And that day, David and the Israelites won a great victory over Goliath and the Philistines.
Question. How was it that David could defeat the giant? Was he bigger than Goliath? No. Was he stronger than Goliath? No. Had he got better weapons than Goliath? No. The answer is that he defeated the giant because he remembered that God was on his side, Interestingly, God was also on the side of the other Israelite soldiers - they were part of God's Special people -, but it didn't do them any good because they forgot that! When they looked at Goliath, all they saw was a giant - a big problem. When David came along, he saw that Goliath was big, but he also remembered that his God was far, far, bigger!
Defeating Giants. At this point I use my Object lesson No. 6, Defeating giants, using the two curved cards to help the children understand that with God on their side, they can also defeat any giants in their lives.
Throwing your giants on Jesus. I usually teach 1 Peter 5 v. 7 - "Throw all your worries on him, because he cares for you." in connection with this story. I explain that there are many "giants" or worries that people have in their lives, e.g. another person who is giving them a hard time, a bad habit, or a fear (e.g. of the dark, nightmares, flying, dying, snakes, spiders, dogs etc.). I get the children to write out the names of their giant(s) on a piece of paper. Then, as I lead them in prayer, at the appropriate time, I get them to crumple up their papers (giants) and throw them on Jesus - imagining Him to be standing at the front of the class. Conclude by emphasising that because Jesus now has their giants, they have them no more.
Object Lesson 39. - Wrestling match. I invite one of the bigger boys to come out for a wrestling match. I explain that it is a "handicap" match - all of him against my little thumb! My volunteer can use both hands, and all he has to do is wrestle my little thumb to the ground! After he has failed to do that, ask "Why wasn't that big boy able to defeat my little thumb?" Answer. Because my thumb, small as it is, is attached to something far bigger - it is attached to me! Remind the children that if they are trusting in Jesus, they are actually attached to God, and no matter how big their "giant" may appear, they will be able to overcome it because God is far, far bigger.
Object Lesson 40. - Samson pad. These are pieces of white plastic, but they look and feel like cardboard. They can be obtained from www.onewaystreet.com . Take one plastic sheet and one ordinary cardboard sheet (which comes in the same pack), and write on each "GIANT". The two sheets should look identical. Give the cardboard sheet to a small girl, and the plastic sheet to a big boy. Explain that we are going to imagine that both the volunteers have giants to overcome. God is on the side of both of them, but one - and you are not saying which - is like David, and has remembered that. The other is like the other Israelite soldiers who forgot that, and so were afraid of the giant.
Ask the volunteers to defeat their "giants" by ripping up the 'cardboard' into small pieces. It will soon be obvious which one is like David.
Puppet Script. A "fun" play "David and Goliath" can be found on www.puppetresources.com . It is well worth a look. As with all scripts, you don't have to use it exactly as written, but you can adapt it to suit your particular class of children.
5 things I have learned about Kids.
by
Karl Bastian (The Kidologist)
1. STOP WHILE THEY STILL LIKE IT!
Often when kid's workers find something the kids like, they use it until the kids are tired of it and then can never use it again! Kids determine whether they like something or not by the last remembered feeling associated with the activity. So if it got old - they remember being tired of it. But if you quit while they like it - they will cheer when you go to do it again!
2. ASK FOR GUESSES, NOT ANSWERS!
A guess is always good, no matter how far from correct it may be! I once had a little boy who always said "Moses" to every question I asked, so finally I 'rigged' the questions and asked, to whom did God give the ten commandments?...... he thought really hard and said "Jesus?" I will never forget the crushed look on his face when I said, "No, it was Moses." It was a powerful lesson - now I ask for guesses and can always say - "Great guess" (and give a reason why) and then move on for another 'guess'.
3. KIDS ACCEPT PUPPETS FASTER THAN PEOPLE
The reason I use Gus (or The Fuzz or Molly, or Wally, or one of many others) is that kids quickly accept and love puppets (if they are presented as being real and not a toy). Then they accept you as a 'friend of the puppet.' Just THIS WEEK a mom said that she asked her daughter, "So how do you like Karl, the new Kid's Pastor?" She replied, "I don't know him that well yet, but Gus is really cool, and funny, so I guess I do like Karl."
4. BIRTHDAYS ARE IMPORTANT
Probably true of adults too, but there are few things that mean as much to a kid as you remembering his/her birthday and celebrating it. That is why I have a HUGE birthday party for myself each year - sounds kinda selfish or strange, but the kids really relate to it! We had 95 kids at a Tunnels of Fun place this past month, and the kids really enjoyed it. I also send out birthday cards and call every kid on their birthday - it takes effort, but the payoff is a much closer relationship with the kids.
5. KNOWING A KID'S WORLD IS A KEY TO GETTING TO THEIR HEART!
When you have played Nintendo 64 - jumped on their trampoline (and hurt your back!) - have your own virtual pet - take them to the Children's Museum downtown - display toys in your office - you show kids that their world is important to you, and suddenly YOUR WORLD (including Jesus and God's Word) becomes important to them!
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 1:22 AM
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