!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> Emerging Women .comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}
Monday, October 23, 2006
Help with Kids
I have recently taken a position at our church in our children's ministry. I have been doing preschool, but will be moving up to help our 3-5th grade group. I also will be a part of revamping how we teach and what we teach in an "emerging" sort of church. I was talking to a couple of the teachers and they said that our 3-5th grade group is "bored". I worked with this age group years ago in an afterschool program, but it wasn't "church". They don't like worship, crafts etc. Does anyone have any experience with this age? Do you have any ideas for "lighting" a spark? I would love to think out of the box here. They love music videos, games, etc. I would really like to see our program change in a way that these kids don't want to miss coming. Any suggestions?!

Labels: ,

 
posted by Anonymous at 9:09 AM ¤ Permalink ¤


7 Comments:


  • At 10/23/2006 11:13:00 AM, Blogger CLPC Kids

    We have a preteen ministry at our church called KidsInC (Kids in Christ) for 3rd through 5th graders. I'd be happy to talk with you about some ideas that work for us.

    Email: kim@clpc.org

     

  • At 10/23/2006 02:42:00 PM, Blogger Julie

    Some stuff I did-

    spark their interst with real life stuff. "Science" experiments that teach about how God made the world to work.

    have them write their own books based on certain themes. Going through a step by step process helps give this structure. They can illustrate it and bid it. You then hold a "book debut" for the parents or other kids.

    Have the kids write plays about loving and serving others. They practice them and then put on a show.

    Present a bible story in its entirety. Dig into the history of the era. Tell about the others cultures the Isrealites were interacting with - their rules, politics, religion, weapons, food, language... Most kids love hands on history and are usually shocked to discover that the bible has connectios to history. (eg. For Egypt - create papyrus from scratch, learn hieroglyphics and carve them onto clay tablets. For Babylon - create scale models of a ziggurat and add the Hanging Gardens, or create a "Blue Gate" large enough to cover your classroom entrance. These are "crafts", but are more hands on experietial learning than crafts for crafts sake.)

    Have a newspaper that the kids put out. They write articles, interview people in the church, answer surveys, and create illustrations. You then arrange it in a progran like Publisher or Print Shop and make copies for the church. Its a great way to convey to others in the church what the kids are doing/learning and show them in the kids own words how they are processing it. Plus the kids take ownership of getting published.

    These are all long term projects that stretch over long periods of time. I would always do series and projects like that with the kids so we were always building on stuff.

    Anyway theseare a few of the things that the kids in my groups liked!

     

  • At 10/23/2006 03:39:00 PM, Blogger Unknown

    Great ideas! I guess I am not as creative as I would like to think, I wouldn't have thought of these...Thanks!

     

  • At 10/23/2006 06:14:00 PM, Blogger Jemila Kwon

    How bout helping the kids make a music video on a theme? Let them go wild. Bring costumes, props, journals. Let them pick the music...or even write their own lyrics or supplemental script. Let them really own the experience, the process and the story they're able to articulate and share through the music video.

     

  • At 10/24/2006 07:45:00 AM, Blogger Lydia

    Is your church located near any small groves of trees?

    I had a sunday school class that took at least one walk through a lightly wooded area close to church to talk about nature and conservation.

     

  • At 10/24/2006 09:30:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous

    I was previously in CFM and lead a mid-week gathering. I used the book "Show Me! Devotions" by Group Publishing. It provides eye-catching science tricks, stunts, and illusions that kids love learning and ultimately share with friends and family. The kids loved the "Show Me" Tricks. I also used a multi-aged resource for kids put out by Seasons of the Spirit (www.spiritseasons.com). Good luck!

     

  • At 10/24/2006 04:00:00 PM, Blogger Unknown

    Lydia,
    We have trees near by, but more desert, cactus etc. We could still so something with that though. Thanks again for all the ideas, I am taking lots of notes!

     
Post a Comment ~ back home