Tag Archives: learning activity

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

 

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Learning to Love God’s Word

Posted by Mar 2, 2017 children, Serving , , , , , , , ,

Every Sunday in churches across America, gleeful preschool children sing out the favorite traditional song:  “The B-i-b-l-e , yes that’s the book for me!”  It’s a familiar song to those of us who grew up in church and learned about the Bible at a young age.

But I sometimes wonder if we understand just how important it is to teach the Bible to little children today. We know from Scripture that the Apostle Paul understood how important it is.  In his letter to Timothy,  Paul reminded the young preacher of the spiritual training in his early childhood years that brought him to faith in Christ. Paul writes,  From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.2 Timothy 3:15

Like Timothy, I was blessed with a mother—and grandmothers —who taught me the great stories of the Bible and helped me learn portions of Scripture.   When I was just five years old,  my mother helped me memorize the first chapter of the book of Psalms. Although I understood some of the verses,  I didn’t understand all the words in the King James Version. I didn’t grasp much about “the seat of the scornful” or the “chaff which the wind driveth away” (Psalms 1:1 & 4). But when I was older I learned more about the meaning of those words.  As I grew, my understanding grew. And that Psalm has stayed with me throughout my adult years!

My Sunday school teachers understood the value of teaching Scripture to children too. My 5th grade teacher,  encouraged our class to learn Bible verses each week.  I took the challenge and enjoyed watching the gold stars accumulate each Sunday on the chart until at last I earned my very own Bible! It was special because of the gold edged pages and the golden zipper with a cross. But what made the award even more special was the appreciation and praise of my teacher.  She expected us to learn and do well, and we did.  Her teaching was not too hard for us to grasp—but it was not too easy either. I had to think in her class and I liked that! I’m not sure if my teacher knew how much she influenced my life, actually I doubt that she could know.  But now as I recall those days, I’m encouraged and believe that my young students will one day benefit from learning their Bible verses each week too!

Helping children learn and memorize Scripture is an important part of our teaching ministry because it will help them grow spiritually. It will help them now—and in the years to come. We don’t know what the future holds for our students, where they will be ten or twenty years from now, but we can prepare them for the days and years ahead by helping them hide God’s Word in their hearts.

In my next blog, I’ll discuss different methods for teaching Scripture to children that are both effective and easy to use.

God bless you as you teach today!

Verda Rubottom 

 

 

What Methods Do You Recommend When Teaching Children?

Posted by Oct 28, 2015 children, Methods for teaching children, Serving , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_2165(Part 4 of Children’s Ministry Philosophy) While entire college courses are devoted to studying the most effective methods to use when teaching children, I’ll limit my discussion here to five suggestions:

1. First, you must know something about your students!  The teaching methods you choose will depend on their ages and development, their cultural backgrounds, and their spiritual maturity levels.  Missionaries study the culture and languages of the people they plan to reach with the gospel—and as Christian teachers, we need to do the same. Knowing the typical stages children go through will guide you in your selection of materials, and the methods you use. Additionally, you’ll want to learn about your students’ individual interests, abilities, talents, and hobbies—as well as the needs and challenges that are common to their age group.

2. Become  familiar with the “language” of your students. How do they talk and relate to each other? One way to do this is to observe the age group you’ll be teaching. Listen to them. Notice the way they communicate both verbally and non verbally. We don’t need to talk down to children, but we do need to communicate the best we can at their level of understanding. We can bring them to greater knowledge of Scripture and the Christian life by building on what they know, and taking them to the next level. The method you choose for each lesson should be a tool that communicates and helps illuminate the truths of Scripture to a child’s mind and heart. This means you will need a variety of methods in your teaching tool box!

3. Choose methods that will capture the interest of your students.  In her classic book, Motivation, Madeline Hunter discusses the variables that affect a child’s learning. One of them is a child’s interest.  The principle here is, “interest precedes learning”. Very simple, yet we can easily overlook this point. Sometimes our best plans will fail because we have lost the interest of the children. As any children’s teacher can tell you, their attention span is limited—and they will let you know when it’s used up!  Some ways to not only capture—but keep their attention are discussed in my article, “How Children Learn Best” on the free download resource page and in my book, First Steps for Effective Teaching, available on this website.

4.Let children participate in some way. Children learn more when their senses are involved and when they have opportunities to participate in the learning process.  Storytelling, teaching and worship videos, object lessons, puppets, flash cards, drama and role play, interest centers, and games are all effective teaching tools when used appropriately and can involve children. Remember though, that it’s good to plan for a balance of active learning and listening times—because both are important. Children are participating while they’re  listening—if they are thinking, and are motivated and inspired.

5. Above all, seek the Lord’s guidance when planning your lesson and teaching methods. Jesus, the Master Teacher, knows all about children and the best teaching method to use for each occasion. He knows who will be in your class that day and what methods will be most effective in speaking to a child’s heart and mind.  I encourage you to consider using a variety of methods and to expand your teaching tool box.  All of us have our favorite method, and it may be our most effective method!  God has gifted us in different ways.  But be open to stretching a little and trying something different. You may be surprised at how much you enjoy it and how the children respond!  Jesus described the growing teacher in Matthew 13:52  when he compared them to householders who brought out of their storehouses, “the fresh as well as the familiar” (The Amplified Bible). We want our students to look forward to coming each week…so let’s give them our best.  And then trust the Master to do His work in each of their hearts!

God Bless You Today!

Verda Rubottom

 

Christmas Learning Activity for Little Ones

Posted by Dec 16, 2014 Serving , , ,

Preschool book gift box 003Today I’m sharing a simple way for parents and teachers to share the Christmas story with their little ones. This activity can be found in my book, Through the Bible Learning Activities for Young Children. This mini-lesson is designed for short attention spans and curious little minds.

Jesus is Born Scripture reference: Luke 2; John 3:16   MATERIALS: Gift box, wrapping paper, picture of Jesus. ACTIVITY: Wrap the box and the lid separately. Hold the beautifully wrapped box while you discuss gift giving traditions with children. Let them share about gifts they’ve given and received. Ask the children, “What is the greatest gift that has ever been given?” After taking their ideas, open the box and pull out a picture of Jesus. Tell the Christmas story and the reason why Jesus came to earth (John 3:16). Variations: Include objects that illustrate the meaning of Christmas and pull them out as you tell the story.  Examples: hay, star, toy donkey, small crown, doll size baby blanket, play coins (for taxes), gold (paint small rocks gold), perfume, etc.