100 Best Ideas to Turbocharged your Preschool Ministry (3 page)

How we approach these gender differences can enhance our education practices, minimize discipline problems, and create a more productive, gender-friendly learning atmosphere.
To make your preschool ministry more gender appropriate, take inborn differences into consideration when developing programs.

Because gender differences are at their strongest in early childhood, we can’t put boys and girls into the same room and expect them to learn in the
same manner.
Consider making these suggested small changes to create a friendly environment for boys and girls.

• Have boys sit closer to you so they’re able to hear you better.
  
• Give boys more time to answer questions because while girls’ brains excel at memory, boys’ brains are more task-focused. Boys are likely to withdraw if they feel overwhelmed or pressured.
  
• When engaging kids in singing, keep in mind that girls are six times more likely than boys to sing in tune at an early age.
  
• Adjust your visual environment. Boys’ and girls’ brains process images differently. Girls are more aware of color and texture; boys are better at discerning direction and speed. Also, keep your room lighting bright because boys tend to struggle if lighting is too dim.
  
• When serving snacks, keep in mind that there’s a gender difference in taste. Girls prefer sweet snacks, while boys prefer salty foods.
  
• Add movement to preschool ministry. Movement helps stimulate boys’ brains and manage their impulsive behavior. Discipline problems with boys can often be avoided by allowing them to keep their hands busy while learning.
  

—Barbara

Certain prayers recited at mealtime and bedtime have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.
Our parents and grandparents taught many of us these simple prayers when we were preschool age.
The most recited prayer before mealtime is “God is great!
God is good!
Let us thank him for our food.”
And at bedtime: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
Apparently the pronunciation of “good” and “food” rhymed at one time, and nothing says “sweet dreams” like a prayer about dying in your sleep.

These prayers are frequently used to introduce children to the idea of communicating with God, but preschoolers can learn to talk to God about more than eating and sleeping.
Instead of rote prayers, we can teach parents and preschoolers to speak to God as a friend by using simple, conversational language.
In our preschool ministry, we help kids move beyond memorized prayers to talking to God in their own words by asking two questions, “What do you want to thank God for?”
and “How do you want God to help you?”

Thank you, God, for...
We teach preschoolers to have an attitude of gratitude by teaching them to thank God for what’s occurred in their day.
This helps them understand “Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father” (James 1:17).
For young children, thankfulness flows from a natural expression of devotion and love.
By teaching little ones to be thankful, we’re showing them the many ways God loves them and how to express their love and devotion back to God.

Walk-around prayer—
A practical way to teach kids to be thankful is to walk around your preschool classroom and point out things you’re thankful for.
Turn it into a prayer of thanks by saying, “Thank you, God, for...” and naming each of the things you’re thankful for.
Then have preschoolers do the same.

Thank-you box—
Have kids help you decorate a special thank-you box.
Each week, have one of the children take the box home and place an item
inside that he or she is thankful for.
Then next week during your prayer time, open the box and have the child tell about what he or she is thankful for.

God, help me...
When preschoolers are taught to ask God for help, they learn to be dependent on God.
They learn they need his help to live by the principles in his Word.
We teach young children that they need God’s help to obey their parents, forgive their siblings, and be all God wants them to be.
By asking for help, they learn that God is trustworthy.
It also reminds them that God is concerned with every detail of their lives.

How do we build the practice of asking God for help into our preschool ministry?

Role model—
The first way to help preschoolers is to model it.
For example, at times all children have difficulty sharing; when this occurs, take a moment to pray with those involved and ask God for help.

Prayer circle—
Have preschoolers sit in a circle, and ask children to each name one thing they’d like God’s help with this week.
Write down their prayer requests, and follow up the next week to see how God worked.

Prayer is foundational for every preschooler’s relationship with God.
It’s preschoolers’ way to access God; it teaches them dependency on God and develops their faith.
We can teach preschoolers to talk to God in their own way with confidence that God hears them.
Encourage your children to move beyond rote prayers by asking God for help and thanking God for what he’s done.

—Eric

God loves variety.
Think of all the wonderful varieties of plants, animals, colors, and fish God created.
Think about all the different types of people God created.
It would be boring if we were all the same.
God also created preschoolers with multiple intelligences—intrinsic ways that they’re smart and that they learn best.

The effective preschool ministry recognizes this and seeks to engage all the multiple intelligences.

Word-smart preschoolers
are sensitive to the meaning and order of words.
They use an expanded vocabulary.
They respond to jokes, riddles, reading, writing, storytelling, and word games.

Logic-smart preschoolers
like reasoning, patterns, and order.
They want to know how things work, ask lots of questions, and collect things.
They respond to puzzles, blocks, and counting devices.

Body-smart preschoolers
enjoy sports and physical activity.
They respond to body language, dance, acting, and active games.

Music-smart preschoolers
are sensitive to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone.
They love to listen to and play music, sing, hum, move to rhythm, and create tunes.

Picture-smart preschoolers
perceive the world accurately and recreate or transform aspects of that world.
They like puzzles, mazes, doodling, painting, drawing, building with blocks, and taking things apart and putting them back together again.

Nature-smart preschoolers
recognize and classify the numerous species of an environment.
They like to spend time outdoors observing plants, collecting rocks, and catching insects.
They love nature.

People-smart preschoolers
are all about people and relationships.
They have many friends; they’re good mediators and team players.
They enjoy group games and discussions.

Self-smart preschoolers
use their emotional life to understand themselves and others.
They control their feelings and emotions.
They do a lot of observing and listening.
They do best when working alone.
They enjoy journals and reflective questions about their experiences and emotions.

Whenever you create a lesson for preschoolers, consider all the ways that kids are smart.
Over the course of a few lessons, you should hit all of them to reach all kids where they’re already intelligent.

Here’s an example.
Let’s take Jonah and the Big Fish (Jonah 1-2).

Word Smart
—Dramatically paraphrase the Bible passage to preschoolers; then have them retell it to someone else in the room.

Logic Smart
—Have preschoolers put together a puzzle of Jonah and the the Big Fish.

Body Smart
—Have them act out the Scripture.

Music Smart
—Lead them in singing a song about Jonah and the Big Fish.

Picture Smart
—Have them draw a picture of what happened in the Bible.

Nature Smart
—Bring some seaweed for them to touch or a picture of a large fish for them to look at.

People Smart
—Have them play a group game and discuss what happened with friends.

Self Smart
—Ask them questions and have them draw pictures about how they would’ve felt if they were Jonah.

All of us have a tendency to teach out of our own learning style because it’s our comfort zone.
Challenge yourself and other preschool leaders to engage all of kids’ smarts.
When that happens, children will be excited about coming to church because they’ll be learning the way they enjoy most.

—Dale

Separation anxiety is one of the toughest challenges for preschool ministry leaders and parents of preschoolers.
For leaders, it disrupts the ministry and tends to spread like wildfire to the other children.
For parents, it’s frustrating and heartbreaking because no parent wants to see his or her child in distress.
To deal with a child’s unwillingness to leave a parent or caregiver, you need to understand why children go through this stage.

Separation anxiety is a sign that a child’s beginning to understand his or her environment.
When children can’t see their parents, they exhibit anxious behaviors because they want their parents to stay close.
Also, young children can’t yet understand time, so they don’t know when or even if their parents will be back.
This is a normal and healthy part of psychological development.
Separation anxiety usually begins at about 8 months of age, and children can still experience great fear of being separated from their parents when they’re as old as 5 or 6.

Separation anxiety can be more intense when a child’s experiencing a transition in life.
There are times all children will experience difficult transitions.
For example, when a child’s intelligence has reached the level where he or she is able to recognize someone as a stranger, having this person near will make the child anxious.
Also, changes a child may be experiencing at home can create insecurities.
These circumstances could be events such as moving, a change in a day care situation, relationship problems between parents, or the arrival of a new sibling.
If you’re able to recognize major events in children’s lives, your patience and understanding can help ease them through transitions.

Separation anxiety can be lessened with routines to help children feel secure.
Have the parent establish a routine of hugs, kisses, and parting words.
A familiar pattern will make it easier for a child to adjust.
It also helps reassure children if the opening elements in your preschool ministry are consistent.
Use the same songs, the same type of story, prayer, and so on.
A regular routine is a fundamental part of your preschool ministry; stay as consistent as possible when leaders and rooms change.

Separation anxiety must be addressed if it becomes severe.
Be willing to acknowledge the problem if separation anxiety becomes serious.
This can be judged by how intensely and how long the child cries.
If the child cries uncontrollably for a long time and begins to show signs of anger, it’s time to call the child’s parent.
There’s no lesson worth putting a child—and the other children—through an hour of agony.