Sunday School Classes

[damo1]

we notice with filapino kids they love loolies so i have to send every month what our assistant pastor needs

So thatsss the secret!!!! Add more loolies!! LOL... thanks Damo for all your comments, I appreciate them as always. I was thinking of doing 1/2 hour classes but your right, perhaps 2 hours would be better. I'm going to be teaching in an Orthodox Church so the mass is like 4 hours long and there is fellowship for 30minutes - 1 hour right after... soo its not too much but not too little. I dont belive in giving homework for Sunday School because no one will read it during the week unless they are zealous. And kids are still discovering the world and all it has so I dont know if will be willing.. but I will have voluntary homework like, suggested readings, and things to think about. I'm also going to buy all of them a bible if they dont already have one to themselves instead of a family bible.. so I hope that will help them read more!

Hay Blien

nice to hear from you and its good to know that you are still hear on worthy i am slowly comming back but will be away again in dec this time i wil be spending a month with my new wife and i wil not be able to be near a computer until the 7th of jan 2009 that is when i come back to australia and then work until october and take off again this time i wil spend 3months

we dont give our young kids home work but what the parents do since they are actively involved is discus with their kids what our assistant pastor talked about our church is very close nit brother and its everyone who gets behind my fiancee

its though going to take me time to get to know the members

just go with what the spirit places on your heart that is what i find works brother our kids do want to know about the old testament and new testament they love it when they hear king davids story and sampson and then moses and noah

our assistant pastor is good and she knows how to aproach certain topics i sat in two classes but my time was spent talking to the youth and getting to know the youth and asking them what they would like to see brought into the youth group

you will be a fine sunday school teacher blien in the philippines our kids are use to 2hr services so i dont know how it wil work in your part of the world as kids and youth these days turn off when the hour is up and are wanting to head out the door and home so they can watch tv or play the x box or play station or listen to there favorit music

our kids dont have what american kids have blien so that is why just preach the gospel and dont do what the mega churches are doing

God bless from damo

[calluna]

I defiantly hear you on objectives and I'm a big fan of those, thanks for telling me how you conduct your classes. I really like that you give something for the parents as well so that there is an open line of communication. That sounds a little scary to tell you the truth because I know some people can get very opinionated and tell you how to run your class when they have no clue about the Bible or worse no intensions to make the best decision just see their ideas implemented! That's very courageous and I salute you to that one!

I thought about books like Daniel and Ezekiel. Daniel has some prophecy so I thought perhaps children will really not understand this. I mean, its okay to talk about it but to tell them what its about and what God says to Daniel through his Angles.. it might be a little much. How did you accomplish this? Did you just avoid it altogether?

In your experience, what excites children, what excites your children and what bores them? Topics, teach methods, etc..? What do you do on topics like Demons and their roles in the Old/New testament? For me demons are very important because I had a first hand experience with them.. Horrible Horrible.. And also I belive everyone even adults should learn how to screen thoughts that come from the Devil so that we can be wise to his schemes. That dirty old man! lol... seriously though..

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 :-)

[Blien]

I think these are all great points, I'm going to consider what you all have said and think about where we should start our first lessons.

My favorite place to start is in the book of Samuel because its very simple and easy to understand. David or someone does wrong they get punished for it and they see the kind of relationship that a person must have with God and how loving and kind He is to forgive if you repent from your sins... so yeah, I think I just made my mind all the sudden! hahaha that was easy! I think the Book of Samuel is very easy to understand for all ages and has lots of many characters and interesting plots! Who knows perhaps we might create drawings of King David and his family and scenes like David playing music for Saul or when Samuel mediates for people.. how interesting. There are so many interesting topics in Samuel 1 & 2 and show in great excess God's unfailing love and how society should be united together as the Israelities were at certain times... it has everything, action, romance, drama, comedy! Very interesting indeed.... I think also we should have a lesson every day in the book of Proverbs with illustrations or songs/music!

This is going to be fun! Thanks everyone!