Tag Archives: encouraging children

Growing in God’s Word: Helping Children Memorize Scripture

Posted by Jun 9, 2017 children, Methods for teaching children, Serving , , , , , , , , ,

Summer is here and it’s time to review the year, and consider ways to sharpen our teaching skills for our future students. If you’re in children’s ministry, you’re probably teaching throughout the summer. But one thing  is for sure if you’re a good teacher, you’re always learning new things and looking for ways to improve your teaching!  In my last blog,  I discussed the importance of helping children memorize Scripture. Here are some practical ways to help them learn—and retain Bible verses in their long term memory.

  • Psychologists tell us that information that’s presented both visually and verbally is easiest to remember. This is why using visuals and objects when teaching children is important.  And why explaining an idea with words, and visually is especially effective. When teaching children something new, associate the new concept or information with something they already know, and build on that. For example, when teaching about baby Moses, using a doll wrapped in a blanket will help young children associate something they’re familiar with, with a new story about a baby who was protected by God.
  • Before you have children memorize Scripture, teach them the meaning of the verse. They’ll remember it longer and be able to apply it in their life (in keeping with their age and maturity).
  • Children also learn through experiences, and they remember activities more when they talk about them. The experience of working together to put the words of a memory verse in order, filling in blank spaces of a verse, or playing games that reinforce Scripture will help them memorize better. Children will look forward to your class each week if you make it interesting and fun.  Surprise them occasionally with a new game or activity that will bring enthusiasm to your Bible verse learning time.
  • Because short-term memory is very brief—only 20-30 seconds in duration according to memory experts, it will be lost unless new information is connected to your long-term memory. For example, most people can only remember a new telephone number briefly unless they write it down, repeat it, or associate it with something for recall.  Experts tell us that long-term memory comes from well-learned information, which leads us to the importance of organization and repetition
  • Well organized information is easier to learn and memorize than disorganized material presented in a haphazard way. For this reason, we should take care to teach Bible verses in a systematic way. Teaching, explaining, reviewing, and linking verses from week to week will help children retain them in their long-term memory.
  • Repetition is essential for helping children memorize new information. Once they’re familiar with the verse and its meaning, use a variety of methods to repeat and review the verse.  Do this periodically with verses they already know to reinforce them as well.

    (The above steps for teaching Scripture to children are taken from my book, First Steps for Effective Teaching) 

    In my next blog I’ll share a variety of Bible verse learning activities.

God Bless You Today!

Verda Rubottom

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Preparing for the Unexpected

Posted by Mar 18, 2016 children, Methods for teaching children, Serving , , , , , ,

If you teach clightstock_246144_xsmall_verda_rubottom_hildren, you know the unexpected can—and often will happen! One day while teaching, just after I got a new class settled in, a little boy threw up all over the floor! I quickly and gently comforted him and found a place for him to sit a short distance from the group of 26 or so students. Young children tend to overreact in these kind of situations and I had to go into my back-up plan mode immediately, keeping them calm and busy with other activities while attending to the little boy.

If I could sit down with you over coffee, we probably would have many stories to share about unexpected events that have happened to us while teaching.  Everything from a fire or tornado drill to a nosebleed can happen without warning.  But having a plan for the unexpected helps bring calmness and confidence to these situations, and often you can sail right through them.

I enjoy planning. It’s exciting to think about different ways to motivate and inspire children to learn. But teaching isn’t the only thing that we teachers do, and sometimes we fall short of the time we need to prepare.

I’ve learned that both short and long-term planning are important. Even spontaneous ideas work great if you have the basics covered. Long term planning is great because on the days when you’re running late or short of time—you’ve already given yourself a back-up plan. Here are some that you may want to use:

  • Use a standard calendar to write in the themes and lessons for the coming quarter, and if possible the entire year. Keep it in a prominent place where you can write down  lists of supplies and ideas as they come to mind.  A calendar is a constant reminder of the time you have left  to prepare, and also what you have already covered that you can now review.
  • Build a supply of teaching resources at home where you can easily retrieve them for last minute planning. Flash cards, objects for lessons, a favorite puppet, felt stories, a variety of visuals, teaching videos, big books, etc.
  •  Memorize a few action songs, easy learning activities, poems kids enjoy, mystery clue word games, trivia facts, and large and small group movement activities.  These really help when kids need to move their muscles and have a break.
  • Collect interesting stories that have good moral and spiritual value.  These can be stories from your curriculum, children’s magazines, missions periodicals, or from your personal experience.  I collect interesting real life stories from newspapers and other publications that I think can be used someday to inspire others.
  • Use review games often!  Children love games, and it’s a great way to see what they’ve actually been learning.  Use non-competitive games, or for older children who enjoy a little friendly competition, you can use games involving teams.
  • Use writing activities that are simple and only require a pencil, paper and your idea to get them started.  Write a question on the board.Here are some examples: What is your favorite time of year and why?  What would you like to be when you grow up? What have we learned about God in our class?  My favorite Bible story is________. You can use questions about recent lessons to get them started or help the children recall other Bible stories they’re familiar with. For very young children always have crayons and paper handy for drawing.
  • One of the best ways to prepare for the unexpected in your class or children’s church is to come prayed up and with your mind and heart focused on God. The peace of God is a wonderful thing! I’ve experienced it many times in my life during difficult and crisis situations. God has promised to be with us as we minister in Jesus’ Name.  And we can rest in that and remember Jesus’ words:

      Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

These are just a few ideas on planning for the unexpected.  But remember,  we can also expect  God to bless us and the children we minister to each and every week!   The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. I Thessalonians 5:24

God Bless You Today!

Verda

 

Encouraging The Children We Teach

Posted by Feb 25, 2016 Serving , , , , , , ,

lightstock_153805_xsmall_verda_rubottom_In my previous post, I discussed the power of words and how they can affect children. Words help shape a child’s thinking about others and about themselves.  In their book, Teaching Your Children To Tell Themselves the Truth, authors William and Candace Backus stress the importance of helping children replace wrong beliefs about themselves with the truth. In some cases, these wrong beliefs can be the result of a discouraging experience.

Children who are discouraged tend to overemphasize the negative and think that because they’re not good in one subject, they’re not good in any.  Or, they dismiss compliments from others because of comparisons with their peers where they feel they fall short.Teachers can help discouraged children feel more valued and competent by helping them to recognize their strengths.Encouraging words that are sincere and thoughtful can help build confidence.

But communication is not limited to our words.  Nonverbal communication is also important. Adults who get down on a child’s level, and smile, and laugh, and pray with them—are communicating a great deal about their feelings toward them. Our facial expressions, body posture, and tone of voice can state our message even more forcefully than our words. We can be more effective when expressing confidence in a child’s strengths when our words are coupled with body language that matches what we are saying.

It’s clear from Scripture that Jesus did this as he took time to be with children and paid attention to what they were doing and saying. He enjoyed their exuberant praise (Matthew 21:15,16; Matt. 18:1-4)! He took them up in his arms and blessed them (Matthew 19:13)! What a beautiful picture!

Let me add here that I’m not implying that we shouldn’t correct children—or that we should be permissive teachers. That would be a serious mistake. We know that not all of the children we teach are discouraged or feel incompetent; a child’s confidence and behavior is the result of many different factors. But all children can benefit from words and actions that build them up. And that is true with any age group. But if you’re like me, you’ve probably noticed children in your class who occasionally need some special attention and encouragement from their teacher.  Teachers, God has not only given us a ministry to teach—but a ministry to encourage children! And what we say—really does make a difference!

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

God Bless You Today!

Verda Rubottom

 

Words That Make a Difference in Children’s Lives

Posted by Feb 15, 2016 Serving , , , ,

Just how important are the words we use with children? The Bible makes it cleaIMG_2165r that our tongue is powerful in it’s influence: “The tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21 NIV). Teachers have great influence and can encourage—or discourage—children by what they say and how they say it.

Each week children come into our churches bringing their problems with them. But an encouraging word from a kind teacher may be all a child needs to feel valued and loved by God. Giving children personal attention, listening to them, and using our words to build them up is more valuable than many of the things we concern ourselves with when planning our lessons.  It’s good to stop and ask ourselves if we are paying attention to this important aspect of teaching.

Most of us can recall the wonderful teachers in our school days who encouraged us by what they said, and perhaps a few who didn’t—and left us discouraged and doubting ourselves.   And while it’s true that children are surprisingly resilient, it’s equally true that they are vulnerable to what they hear—and believe—about themselves. Children who believe disparaging comments from others will have a much harder time that those who have the inner strength to resist such comments and refuse to believe them.

Young people form their concepts of truth, kindness, and respect by observing the behavior of important people in their lives—which certainly includes their teachers.  The words we speak, coupled with the example of genuine Christian living, will be a powerful influence in their formative years.

Children will notice a Christlike attitude towards others because it’s  a stark contrast to what they see in the in the world today where communication is often harsh and critical.  Our students need to experience examples of Christlike behavior and conversation from the adults in their lives. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us in our teaching—and in our conversations!  He can help us use the words that will make a difference in our students’ lives!

God bless you today!

Verda Rubottom