calluna

I totally understand where you're coming from. We need to be mindful of our words and remember that we are set apart from the World. "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" (Psalms 1:1-3). We can reach out to the unbeliever without participating in their activities/speech... We need to delight in the righteous ways God has laid out for us. We prosper through this-- through seeking after and following the Lord's ways-- not through "worldly" gimmicks.

I have an old friend who came to make a salvation decision for Christ through some conversations in the chat room here a couple years ago. I'm pretty sure it was the Worthy chat room anyway; there were a couple she frequented.

The open line of communication with the parents was scary at first, but I got over it! One of the Mothers and I didn't get along real well for the first couple or three months. We disagreed on structure and discipline, primarily. I put my foot down and the Pastor's wife backed me up. The kids got used to some rules, became more engaged, and are acting better at home now too, apparently... So, the Mother and I are doing fine now and working well together. The Fruits of the Spirit unit I did was her suggestion basically, because her kids were really struggling with patience, kindness, etc. towards one another. I got some specific examples on what needed to be worked on, and we hashed it out in class with lots of examples from the Bible, discussion, and a bit of play-acting. As far as prophecy in Daniel, I skimmed over it, I guess you could say. If I didn't have real little kids in there, I would have gone more into it, but it just didn't seem like a good idea with the real tiny ones... That unit was five weeks long, if I remember correctly, so we didn't go over a whole lot. I was just getting my feet wet and struggling to keep my class in order, too. I think if you're going to cover something like prophecy with children, you need to devote a lot of time too it and break it down into really small lessons. Teach one concept about it, review that briefly the next Sunday, then build on it... The first Sunday you'd want to be really general, I think, discussing the definition of prophecy and the very, very basics. I would not attempt to pull much else out (if anything) from the Bible story that week. I've discovered over the years that children get concepts jumbled together in their heads if you present too many at once... As far as demons, I haven't included anything regarding them in my own curriculum (yet). At the church I grew up in, the curriculum we used had one or two stories regarding demons, I think, and I just read it out of the curriculum, I think, because I wasn't quite sure how to address it! However, I do think it is an appropriate and necessary topic for older primary-school aged kids. I wouldn't probably go there with children younger than 7 or 8. It's important to keep a couple things in mind: You're not the sole responsible person for teaching the kids everything they need to know about Christianity, God, and the Bible, and, you don't want to scare anyone! I'm not saying to avoid topics completely, but to handle them delicately and keep in mind your audience. You don't want the children going home with nightmares and the parents deciding to switch churches! If I were to do a unit that included stories regarding demons, I would probably have the entire unit be about spiritual warfare. I wouldn't want to just mention a demon in passing, and not devote the time to it to really give the children a full understanding. I would begin at the beginning, with Satan, and then talk about the Fall of Man, Job, the temptation of Jesus, and a few other things. I would be exceedingly careful to pull each lesson back to God, His love for us, and salvation. You don't want to leave children with the impression that Satan/demons are more powerful than God, or that God doesn't love us because He allows evil. These are concepts that many adults struggle with still-- and can bring up the age old question of "Why does God let bad things happen to good people?" These concepts can also bring about discussions regarding free will... You would need to be prepared to answer all the questions kids might bring up! As far as what excites/bores the kids... That really depends on the kids and would be a great question to ask them or their parents. Just say, "What kinds of things do you guys do for fun at home?" or, to the parents: "What activities do your kids enjoy?" Be flexible and be willing to go outside of your comfort zone to do activities, crafts, and object lessons that may not necessarily be your first choice... Also, keep in mind that it's good for children to broaden their horizons... So, don't feel like you can only do what the kids say they want to. My class boycotted my first couple of craft projects...lol *seriously* But, I kept introducing them to the world of art, and now they love it and sometimes even want to stay after to work on their crafts more! I would say that a variety is good... They don't want to do the same thing every week. When I'm planning a unit, I make sure that I don't have two similar crafts, games, etc. back-to-back. I hope all of this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions :-)

Hi again. So, here is some more about my SS class... I have some class objectives, and I match up everything I do against those to ensure that I'm staying on track. Here are the objectives: 1. To help all children understand the Bible on their own level and to adapt my teaching methods accordingly 2. To help lead pre-saved children towards a salvation decision for Christ 3. To help children understand the nature of God and how to relate to Him 4. To help instill into children principles of Christian living 5. To help children develop a Biblical World View 6. To help children develop a passion for prayer and worship 7. To help children realize, develop, and utilize their Spiritual Gifts Each unit that I do has its own set of objectives also. For example, the first unit I did with the kids was on the Book of Daniel, and I came up with the following objectives: 1. To gain an overview of the Book of Daniel 2. To learn that obedience stems from trusting in what God says 3. To learn that God is always in control 4. To learn that faith is something practiced through everyday decisions, not just on Sundays within the walls of a church. The overall objectives I send home in a welcome packet to new parents. At the beginning of each unit, I send home a "parents' memo" also, with the objectives, the memory verse, and the unit outline/calendar. I think objectives are good, because otherwise people have the tendency to waver off onto rabbit trails and not accomplish what should be accomplished in the Church setting. You want to be sure you're doing more than teaching facts... As far as topics that I cover... I'm kind of playing it by ear. I took over the children's ministry at this Church about a year ago, within a month of beginning my attendance there. So, I chose some "random" topics at first, until I got to know the needs of the children/families a bit better. I make myself very available to the families, and regularly e-mail with them to get their input and whatnot. It's a smaller congregation, and all of the children are together in the one class. The youngest child is nearly three and the oldest is thirteen and has a mental disability. It's a challenge to put together relevant curriculum that reaches all of the children. What I find myself doing is "layering" my lessons, so that the essence of them is very, very basic, but so that there is meatier stuff there for the older ones also. Anyways, here are the titles of the units I've done thus far: 1. Daniel 2. Giving and Gratefulness 3. Christmas Time 4. Grow Good Fruit (fruits of the spirit) 5. Worship the King (which included the Easter lessons) 6. God's Kids (discusses salvation and basic facets of being a child of God) 7. The Sermon on the Mount (will be starting a week from Sunday!) Beyond what I mentioned in my first post regarding the structure of the sessions, I try to use a lot of visual aids and object lessons. We do a lot of art projects also. I'm a huge advocate of incorporating art into curriculum. I believe that children learn best when they interact with material in a variety of ways. During the creative process, when led effectively, the child recalls the material, processes it, takes ownership of it, and projects it. During our unit on Worship, we spent 2-3 weeks making murals for our classroom. I got some of that canvas board and brought in a bunch of my art and scrapbooking supplies. The idea behind this was to illustrate the qualities of God. We discussed a bunch of verses and passages that spoke about this, and came up with a long list of things (such as Creator, Healer, Comforter). As the kids drew, cut, pasted, etc., they were looking up some of the verses again, and talking about how to illustrate the qualities... It required a lot of thought, and the older kids helped the younger ones. It worked out really well. Now, we have several beautiful murals for our newly-painted classroom too! Well, I think that is pretty much it. If you any questions, just let me know. I can go over things more specifically, if you like.

Is there a specific age group you have in mind? Right now youge ones like 8 - 12.. but I think it would be interesting to hear something about older people too like teenagers and young adults. Though I dont think I can teach young adults much.. I am one myself! Okay. I've been in children's ministry for 14 years now (and youth ministry for about 6 months), and have taught a variety of ages. In this past year, at a new Church, I've taken over the kids' program and am writing my own curriculum. So, I'll tell you about my class and anything else that comes to mind... I organize each session into the following components: 1) Prayer. I ask for a volunteer to open in prayer. If no one volunteers, then I do it. Periodically, I have the kids write down prayer requests and put them into a prayer jar. Every few months, we pull out the requests and talk about how God has answered the prayers. It's really neat for kids to see that God has answered their prayers, to see their faith grow because of it, and to hear them express gratitude back to God. 2) The introduction. I explain briefly what we'll be learning and sometimes have an object lesson or other activity to help get the kids thinking about the topic. 3) The Bible lesson. Many people will disagree with me on this, but I almost always read straight from the Bible v. a children's storybook-type material. I involve the children in the reading when they're willing. I think it's important that children become comfortable with the Bible and not be intimidated by it. I explain the big words, of course, read through things 2-3 times, make lists on the white board, etc. 4) A reinforcement activity. This is usually a craft, but sometimes a game. It's important that it reinforce the scripture and not just be something for entertainment value only. 5) Memory work. I have one memory verse per unit. We play various little games in class to help learn it. The kids earn a prize at the end of the unit if they've learned it. 6) The "Knowing God Wall." This is a large bulletin board on our classroom wall. I got some bright colored papers for the kids to write on and tack up to the board. Basically, at the end of each session, I pull the lesson back to God and have the kids think of some things they've learned specifically about God that day. A lot of curriculum fails in this area... It'll teach the kids everything they need to know about David or Moses or various character qualities, but fails to pull it all back to God. There is more I want to say about that... like the content and topics I cover, but that will have to wait for another day or two, because I need to start winding down for bed... I'll be back to write more!

Is there a specific age group you have in mind?

Great reminders on serving here! I'm heavily involved in children's ministries at my Church. It's really overwhelming sometimes, but rewarding also :-) I write all of the curriculum, teach, plan "family nights," round-up volunteers, and take care of other administrative details... ! Busy, busy, but it's great. I have to stay close to God to pull it all off, and rely on Him for wisdom and whatnot. I love teaching the children about the Lord, and watching the spiritual growth in some of the kids in my class is so encouraging to me. God has done amazing things in this ministry! In the past, I've been involved in discipleship of women in my neighourhood or youth at Church. The one-on-one time spent in ministering to another is so renewing and helps remind me of how God is so personable with us also. If you're not currently involved in service at your Church or in your community, I would strongly encourage you to prayerfully seek out opportunities. The blessings will outweigh your efforts!