100 Best Ideas to Turbocharged your Preschool Ministry (5 page)

I often tell parents that parenting preschoolers is simply a three- to four-year training camp.
Sometimes it’s not fun.
It requires a lot of hard work; you must press forward even when you don’t feel like it; consistency is a must—and there are times when you absolutely, positively want to quit.
Put like this, it sounds almost impossible, doesn’t it?
Bottom line, parenting is hard work.
But we trust the hard work to pay off at the final reveal.

Smack dab in the middle of the preschool training years comes the dreaded potty training, and parents need our support.
Sunday isn’t the time to tell parents, “Sorry, that’s not our job.”
It
is
the time, however, to say, “We’re here to help you, and together we can do this.”
Here are a few suggestions that will have your parents saying, “What a great preschool ministry!”

• “I’m in Training” stickers—Place stickers on the kids who are in training. Preschool ministry can get busy, and stickers help volunteers know which preschoolers are in training so they can reinforce this training while kids are at church.
  
• “Parent communication” stickers—Give preschoolers who go in the potty stickers that say, “I went in the potty,” not as rewards but rather as a way to let parents know.
  
• Offer training classes for parents. Resource parents with information to help them be successful in this endeavor.
  

Remember, we’re here to serve families, and this added touch to your ministry will have your young families feeling like VIPs.

—Gina

Today’s preschoolers are growing up in a digital world.
They’ll never know life without computers, fast-advancing technology, cell phones, 24/7 connectedness, and nonstop media immersion.
These children will be very different from previous generations with respect to technology.

Welcome to the digi-saturated world of the preschoolers in your ministry...

78% of preschool families own a computer.

69% of preschool families have Internet access.

7% of preschoolers have a computer in their bedroom.

26% of 4- to 6-year-olds use a computer on a typical day.

43% of 2- to 6-year-olds use a computer several times a week.

99.5% of preschool families have a TV.

75% of preschoolers watch television on a typical day.

43% of 3- and 4-year-olds have a TV in their bedroom.

51% of preschoolers with a television in their bedroom have connection to cable or satellite programming.

32% of preschoolers watch a DVD on a typical day.

18% of preschoolers have a television or DVD player in the car.

The development of handheld video game players for preschoolers is a multi-million dollar industry.

Children ages 4 to 6 spend almost two hours a day with media and technology.

74% of preschoolers know how to turn on the TV by themselves; 58% know how to use the remote to change channels by themselves; and 19% know how to turn on a computer by themselves.

Why are parents bringing their children up as “digikids” living media-centric lives?

• For many families, it’s a way of life. Media has become part of the fabric of families’ daily lives. Many families turn on the TV and leave it on even when no one is watching it. In any given day, 53 percent of children eat a snack or meals in front of the TV.
  
• Parents believe media is key to their children’s future success. Many parents think their children need to get familiar with computers as early as possible.
     One mom from Columbus, Ohio, says, “They’ll survive without the video games and TV...I don’t think they’ll survive without the computer. When they’re older, they aren’t going to have a cashier to check them out at Kroger.”
  
• Parents see it as an educational tool. Research does show that educational programs such as
  Sesame Street
  can help preschoolers learn to read and count. Twenty million parents currently use the educational website
  jumpstart.com
  , which teaches children reading, math, and critical thinking skills.
     A mother of a preschooler in Irvine, California, says, “I don’t spend nearly as much time with my son as I need to. He’s learned huge amounts through the video and computer games that we have...I’m very grateful for the computer games. My kid learned his colors and letters from the computer. It’s been very beneficial to us.”
  
• Parents use it to help with parenting. Today’s parents have a tough job. Often husbands and wives work and juggle complex schedules, and there are growing numbers of single parents. In this environment, parents often turn to media and technology as tools to help them manage their households and keep their children entertained while parents cook, do household chores, or enjoy some “me” time.
  

The debate rages among parents and educators as to whether and how technology, such as computers, should be used with young children.
Some believe that bringing children into too many aspects of the adult world too soon is collapsing the stages of childhood.
There are positive and negative points on both sides of the debate.
No matter which side of the debate you land on, this much we know for sure: The preschoolers in our ministries are being raised in a digital, high-tech world.
We must know how to minister to them effectively.

When ministering to digikids remember...

• Nothing can replace caring volunteers who build relationships with preschoolers. Technology and computers aren’t a substitute for personal interaction. Research at 14 universities found that intelligence, academic success, and emotional stability were determined primarily by personal and language interaction with adults. Barbara Bowman of the Erikson Institute in Chicago says, “Even in the age of technology, it is through relationships with others—through joint activities, language, and shared feelings with other human beings—that children grasp meaning.”
  
• Honor their shorter attention spans. Digitykes are used to rapid scene changes and quick edits. Researchers say that distracting graphics and special effects encourage stimulus-bound behavior that can contribute to shorter attention spans. This can cause reality to seem underwhelming or even boring in comparison. Break up preschool ministry time and learning into short, engaging, interactive segments.
  
• Speak their language by using media and technology as a teaching method. Technology and media can be great tools to share God’s truth with digikids. Balance is the key. Video lessons every single week can become ineffective. Mix it up, using media and technology some weeks and live learning experiences on others.
  
• Use media and technology to connect with today’s digital parents. Use the Internet, email, Twitter, and other methods to connect with parents and give them tools to disciple their children.
  

Childhood may have changed, but children haven’t.
Their hearts are still longing to know the God who made them and loves them.
The message is still the same...even in a digital format.

—Dale

I was once called to one of our preschool rooms because a little boy was having major behavioral issues—to the point where he kept running out of the room.
I took him into the office and talked with him.
When I asked about his father, his head dropped and he said, “I don’t have a dad anymore...he’s in jail.”

I waited with him until his mom came to pick him up.
After describing his behavior issues that day, I asked her about any major stress going on in his life.
“Major stress” turned out to be an understatement.
That week the father had come home and gotten extremely angry with the mother.
When she fell asleep, he poured lighter fluid on her and tried to light her on fire.
When that didn’t work, he picked her up and slammed her down on the glass coffee table.
He then picked up a piece of the broken glass and tried to slit her throat.
She showed me several cuts on her arms.
It had all happened in front of this little boy.
The teenage sister was able to pull the father off the mother, and the police came.
The father’s in jail awaiting trial for attempted murder.

My heart broke for this child.
No wonder he was having behavioral issues!
Obviously he was experiencing a lot of fear and anxiety because of what he’d been through that week.
This is an example of a child misbehaving at church when he or she has deeper issues going on.
Many times when children go through troubled times in their lives or homes, feelings of anger, fear, or anxiety will surface at church.
How do you minister to children when symptoms begin appearing that point toward deeper issues?

Connect with the parent immediately.
Find out what’s going on.
Ask how you can meet the child’s needs and minister to him or her during this time.
Also offer help to the parents, and connect them with people who can meet their needs.

Give the child individual attention.
This is when children need you the most.
Many times misbehavior is a desperate cry for help.
Be there for this child.
Show unconditional love, support, and care.
Meet with the child for
a few minutes each week with the parent’s permission.
Connect the parent with a professional child counselor if needed.
Assign a volunteer to be with the child one-on-one during class.

Request the parent’s presence.
If the misbehavior continues, ask the parent to stay with you in the room until the child’s behavior improves.
This may take several weeks.

The little boy I mentioned is doing much better.
He’s experienced a lot of pain for a child so young.
But he’s beginning to smile, and his behavior in class has improved dramatically.
I know God has great plans for his life and will help this child rise above his painful memories.

Remember, there’s always a reason children misbehave.
If we can reach out in love to address the reason, we can see God do great work in their lives.
He can bring healing, peace, and purpose to their hearts.

—Dale

We tend to think of peer pressure as something that occurs in the teen years.
Actually, the influence of peers begins to take shape around the ages of 3 and 4.
Like all human beings, preschoolers have a natural desire to fit in—to feel they’re part of the group.
As children interact more and more with other kids in preschool, they begin to feel pressure to conform to the group of peers they socialize with.
This peer pressure influences how kids dress, the toys they play with, and the behaviors they engage in.
Preschoolers will go out of their way to think and act like their friends—in positive and negative ways.

Along with their parents, we provide preschoolers with building blocks of faith and give them values that guide them.
But our ministries are uniquely positioned to increase the power of positive peer pressure in three distinct ways.

1.
We help preschoolers know they’re not alone.
When it comes to standing up to the negative influences of their peers, preschoolers need to know that other children their age are also learning and believing the same things about God and living their lives according to God’s Word.
They’ll engage in Bible learning, worship, and crafts with their peers at church because they enjoy being part of the group.