Tag Archives: teaching children

The Value of Music in Children’s Ministries (Part 2)

Posted by Jul 26, 2019 Serving , , , ,

In my previous post we established the many benefits of using music in children’s ministry. It’s important to know that you don’t need to be a musician to take advantage of these benefits. Today there are so many ways to incorporate music into your class that weren’t possible a few years ago, and it’s easier for any teacher to implement in their planning.

Here’s just one example. I recently bought an inexpensive, portable speaker device small enough to carry in my purse to use with my iPhone and iPad to teach my class some new songs available on the internet. It provided just the volume I needed and filled my classroom with the sound of singers and a band performing the new songs. The actions of the songs could be viewed on my iPad if I wanted to teach them too. I often lead the children in singing a cappella as well, but it’s great to have the availability of ready made musical groups at my finger tips. It’s helpful to have a technical person on your teaching team to help, but if that isn’t your strength just ask a teenager and they can usually give you the technical help you need.

I like to have worship songs playing on a CD as the children come in on Sunday mornings. It sets the right tone for the morning, and sometimes they even sing along as they’re gathering at the “early bird” activity tables.

In past years, I’ve purchased visualized songs for leading children’s worship, but now I only do that occasionally because it’s so easy to make them. With the benefits of computer technology and being able to enlarge fonts and add graphics and photos to the words, we can now make attractive visuals at home quickly and easily. I keep a supply of colored paper and poster board at home to back the computer printed copies. If you’re artistic and can illustrate the songs, the kids will enjoy singing along even more!

It’s good to involve the children actively in worship as much as possible. Each week I choose volunteers to help me lead music. I involve as many as possible. Even it they don’t excel musically, they like to hold the visuals or help lead the actions to the songs. The other children participate by singing and doing the motions too.

Another way to encourage participation is to use rhythm instruments occasionally. Even older children enjoy this. Quiet, shy kids may surprise you with their enthusiasm when you bring out the instruments. Of course they will need guidance, a well chosen song, and a teacher who can keep good rhythm to make this form of worship successful for your class. Read Psalms 100 with the children before they play and then encourage everyone to join in and praise the Lord! I really believe the Lord is blessed and honored by this kind of worship!

These are just a few ideas on ways to use music in your children’s ministry. You can review my previous post, Part 1, for a more in-depth look at how valuable music is when teaching children. For years educators have known about the mental, social and emotional benefits of music for children. As Christian teachers we can add the spiritual benefits for our students! The Bible is filled with Scripture that encourages us to use music to praise the Lord!

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.

Psalm 149:1 NIV

God Bless,

Verda Rubottom

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 

 

 

The Best Resource for Parents and Teachers

Posted by Jun 23, 2016 children, Methods for teaching children, Serving , , , , , , ,

Bible lightstock_333439_download_medium_verda_rubottom_I often find myself reading and underlining verses in Proverbs because I need all the wisdom I can get! I think you’ll agree that as parents and teachers we could all benefit from spending a little time each day meditating on the advice given in this amazing book. If you’re dealing with a “sticky situation”, a student who is resistant to learning, or wonder how you can get it all done, you’ll find answers here. The God who made us, is ready to help us in every situation in life, including our ministry with children. Truly, His Word is still the best resource we can have!

Here are a few nuggets I’ve underlined in my Bible (NIV) from Proverbs, chapter 15:

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (15:22)

The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools. (15:7)

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)

The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. (15:4)

A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel. (15:18)

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; and good news gives health to the bones. (15:30)

He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. (15:31)

Whether you teach in a church, or a public or Christian school setting, you bring the wisdom that God has put in your heart into your classroom.  It will come out—even in unspoken ways as you lovingly teach the children, with patience, diligence, kindness, and understanding.  Even correction, will be more easily  accepted by our students when we use wisdom.

God bless you as you teach today!

Verda 

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

 

What is Your Children’s Ministry Philosophy?

Posted by Sep 28, 2015 Serving , , , ,

Christmas and workshop INCM 2005 014A few years ago I was asked about my personal philosophy of children’s ministry. That’s an important question we should all be able to answer as children’s leaders and teachers. It’s important to write down your beliefs and philosophy in order to clarify the purpose and the direction of your ministry. The people who attend your church need to know it too. The next few days I’ll be discussing these questions on leadership in children’s ministry:

1) How can a children’s pastor/teacher connect with children? 2) What is the relationship of a children’s leader to parents? 3) How do you teach children the basics of discipleship? 4) What methods do you use and recommend for teaching children? 5) How would you define a successful children’s ministry?

Here is the first question we’ll discuss in this five part article:

1. How can a children’s pastor/teacher connect with children? I think you begin to connect with kids when they see that you care about them and have their interest at heart.  Children’s pastors and directors need to be approachable and friendly to all children, and show no favoritism.  They need to know that you are trustworthy, patient, even tempered, and fun to be with! It’s important to relate to kids at their level.  To do this, the children’s minister needs a variety of ways to build bridges of communication and connect with the different age groups of children in the church.  There are many ways to do this both using traditional means such as mailing out birthday and get well cards and making phone calls; and with technology such as a church website that has a place for children to interact. Special events outside of class time help build relationships as well.  Outings, parties, and missions outreach events provide special times for sharing conversation, and working together. Praying together is one of the most important ways to show children you care about their needs.

Additionally, it’s important to realize that every children’s leader—and teacher—has a unique personality and set of gifts and talents that can be used to bless the children in their care. Some are funny and entertaining, others are great storytellers, are highly creative, or excel at leadership and organization.   Each person can add outstanding qualities to your teaching team!  So remember,  there are many different ways to connect with children!  The ones listed in this article can serve to get you thinking about all the possibilities on your team!

God bless you as you serve Him today!

Verda Rubottom

New Resource: Biographies of Super Achievers Who Changed Our World

Posted by Feb 24, 2015 Serving , , , , , , , ,

faces of truth royrogersOne of my goals for this blog is to share with you qualityfaces of truth Gutenberg 388060_511878172172439_1960402271_n educational resources that will be helpful in children’s ministries—and in teaching your own children. I’ve come across a wonderful book that I’m introducing today: Faces of Truth: A Collection of Historical Biographies, by Doug and Norma Latta. Here is an excerpt from their introduction:

“faces of truth george washington carver 182014_556534091040180_911414348_nThe premise of this book is to show what can be achieved through people of many races and in all walks of life when they let their Creator help them reach their full potential.  We have purposely chosen individuals from many centuries of Western cultural development who were super achievers in their fields, such as the arts, science, business, public service, war heroes, inventors, journalism athletics, etc…”

faces of truth pocahontasYour students will be inspired by learning about some of the greatest leaders of human history through the biographies that Doug has beautifully illustrated, and the stories Norma has carefully documented and brought to life through her creative writing. Doug and Norma are friends of ours who have a passion for inspiring young minds to push towards their true potential—and as teachers we share that passion. I’ve found this book to be of great help in teaching history to children and have purchased several copies for our family.

faces of truth Tom Landry 416913_544100828950173_1035743068_nIf you would like to learn more about this historical collection go to www.facesoftruth.com, where you can also order the book. And if you happen to live in the Tulsa area, you can meet Doug and Norma in person at their book signing at Mardel’s Bookstore (71st and Mingo) on March 21st, from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Look for more resources to be listed soon!

God bless you today!

Verda

 

Wisdom For Teachers From A Timeless Book!

Posted by Jan 12, 2015 Serving , , , , , , , ,

lightstock_112728_medium_verda_rubottom_I think every teacher needs to read the book of Proverbs. Because in this book, we can find wisdom to help us understand our students, and glean insights on how to deal with problems that come up in the classroom

This year I decided to begin my daily devotions in this wonderful book because–and I think you’ll agree—as parents and teachers, we need all the wisdom we can get!  Proverbs gives us valuable principles, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that we can apply in challenging situations that will affect the environment, and bring a sense of peace and order where learning can take place.

Here are a few nuggets I’ve underlined in my Bible (NIV):

  • Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (15:22)
  • Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.(16:3)
  • The lips of the wise spread knowledge;  not so the hearts of fools. (15:7)
  • A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)
  • The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. (15:4)
  • A man finds joy in giving an apt reply—and how good is a timely word! (15:23)
  • A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; and good news gives health to the bones. (15:30)
  • He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.(19:8)

Teacher, whether you’re in a public or Christian school setting, you bring the wisdom that God has put in your heart into your classroom.  It will come out, even in unspoken ways as you lovingly teach the children, with patience, diligence, kindness, and understanding.  Even correction, will be more easily  accepted by the children when we use wisdom. The wonderful thing is—God is ready to give you the wisdom you need! Just ask Him! (James 1:5)

God bless you as you teach today!

Verda