by Maxine Knoll
“Nanatoes”?! What does “Nanatoes” have to do with teaching children the Bible? Is there something we’ve missed? When one of my granddaughters was about three years old she came for a short visit. While she was visiting, we did some of the usual things that a Nana does when grandchildren come and visit. Housework is forgotten and Nana takes a trip into a small child’s world of excitement and adventure. On this trip we had our usual tea party and then something a little extra…we painted toenails! Imagine the mess with polish everywhere and the giggles when toes are painted all different colors! It was soon time for my little one to go home and things were put away and one would think forgotten. Not the case! When it came time for her bath and bedtime, her mother started removing the polish from her toes. “No, Mama, you can’t do that! Those are my “Nanatoes”! We had made memories in our short visit, and it was exciting enough for her to want keep the memories alive.
In Proverbs 22:6, we are told to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This puts a great responsibility on us as parents and as teachers to do our very best to pass on the wisdom of the Bible to our students. If you are at all familiar with Lambert materials, you know that there is a vast wealth of information and material at your fingertips. One can take Lambert material and aptly teach from it as it is written, or if you have the time you can add your own touch. Teach your material in such a way for it to be exciting enough to keep the memories of your class alive.
There have been many instances where our teaching situation has been such that our classroom may consist of several different ages and learning levels. It is extremely easy to take the material Lambert offers and adjust it to different levels. I have taken pictures from the lesson and made picture pages for the little ones who can’t read. I have taken pictures and made board games and question games for the older students. I have written songs to go along with the lessons and illustrated these songs with the pictures from the lesson material. I use these methods as tools to liven the memories of my class.
Moses told the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 6:7, “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” We parents, grandparents, and teachers need to teach our children when they are young. We need to teach them how to give of their time and money. We need to teach them respect and patience and obedience. Our teachings should be a basis for memories that will become stronger as they grow older.
We need to be good examples and learn from the greatest teacher of all, Jesus Christ. We need to learn from the faith of Noah, and Abraham, and Hannah, and Naomi, and Lois and Eunice, just to name a few. We need to take every opportunity available to us to better our teaching abilities. Advantage should be taken of scriptural material that is available to us to use in conjunction with our Bible. We should never forget that we are training children to be future Christians. The time we take to be better teachers will help keep our classes exciting and interesting enough to keep the memories alive!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
SOWING SEEDS IN YOUNG HEARTS
by Sherry Kughn
As a Bible teacher of children, youths, or women, I have used Lambert Book House materials for many years. The curriculum has always been biblically sound, understandable, and interesting. I have many memories of teaching, and it is not surprising that children always provide the best memories.
Once, I taught the story of Ruth and Boaz to a class of only one. Not to be discouraged, I threw myself into the lesson. We talked about Boaz, Ruth, Naomi, and baby Obed. The student, a seven-year-old girl named Pam, listened intently. I tested her afterwards by asking a few questions. I just knew she would answer every question correctly.
“Now, who did we study about today?” I asked. She looked up at me innocently, smiled, and said, “Ruth and Bozo.” I could not help but laugh, and little Pam laughed right along with me, never knowing why I thought her comment was funny.
Another time, I was teaching Bible class in a rather primitive building at youth camp when a snake wiggled across the floor between the students and me and disappeared into a crack in the floor. That was the loudest teaching experience I ever had. I screamed even louder than the senior girls.
I have taught students of all relations—strangers, kin, my own children, and the children of friends. Once, a little girl’s mother appreciated all that her daughter was learning in Bible class. She sent me a gift by way of the child. The five-year-old handed me a navel orange and pointed to the navel. “Ook,” she said, “it has a beh-yee button on it.” Of course, I gave her a hug, more for the precious comment that for the orange itself.
I have always considered the hearts of children to be a mission field. If we can teach children to apply Bible lessons, like those found in the curriculum of Lambert Book House, we can sow seeds of God’s Word in their hearts.
Throughout the years, I have appreciated the flexibility of Lambert Book House materials. Each lesson contains a basic, sound Bible lesson, and each contains enough supplemental material to tailor to each class’s needs. I have also appreciated the ease of use of the materials. As a teacher, I have always set aside two hours of preparation time during the week leading up to the teaching experience. Unless I had a special project, such as a drama production or an art assignment, two hours has always been ample time to prepare each lesson.
During this quarter, I am serving as a substitute teacher. Nothing pleases me more than to walk down the hallway and hear my own grandchildren or the grandchildren of friends quote a Bible verse or sing a Bible song. These children and their interest in God’s Word are my “flowers” from the seeds I have planted for many years.
As a Bible teacher of children, youths, or women, I have used Lambert Book House materials for many years. The curriculum has always been biblically sound, understandable, and interesting. I have many memories of teaching, and it is not surprising that children always provide the best memories.
Once, I taught the story of Ruth and Boaz to a class of only one. Not to be discouraged, I threw myself into the lesson. We talked about Boaz, Ruth, Naomi, and baby Obed. The student, a seven-year-old girl named Pam, listened intently. I tested her afterwards by asking a few questions. I just knew she would answer every question correctly.
“Now, who did we study about today?” I asked. She looked up at me innocently, smiled, and said, “Ruth and Bozo.” I could not help but laugh, and little Pam laughed right along with me, never knowing why I thought her comment was funny.
Another time, I was teaching Bible class in a rather primitive building at youth camp when a snake wiggled across the floor between the students and me and disappeared into a crack in the floor. That was the loudest teaching experience I ever had. I screamed even louder than the senior girls.
I have taught students of all relations—strangers, kin, my own children, and the children of friends. Once, a little girl’s mother appreciated all that her daughter was learning in Bible class. She sent me a gift by way of the child. The five-year-old handed me a navel orange and pointed to the navel. “Ook,” she said, “it has a beh-yee button on it.” Of course, I gave her a hug, more for the precious comment that for the orange itself.
I have always considered the hearts of children to be a mission field. If we can teach children to apply Bible lessons, like those found in the curriculum of Lambert Book House, we can sow seeds of God’s Word in their hearts.
Throughout the years, I have appreciated the flexibility of Lambert Book House materials. Each lesson contains a basic, sound Bible lesson, and each contains enough supplemental material to tailor to each class’s needs. I have also appreciated the ease of use of the materials. As a teacher, I have always set aside two hours of preparation time during the week leading up to the teaching experience. Unless I had a special project, such as a drama production or an art assignment, two hours has always been ample time to prepare each lesson.
During this quarter, I am serving as a substitute teacher. Nothing pleases me more than to walk down the hallway and hear my own grandchildren or the grandchildren of friends quote a Bible verse or sing a Bible song. These children and their interest in God’s Word are my “flowers” from the seeds I have planted for many years.
USING THE STORY OF JOB
TEACHING JUNIORS ABOUT LOSS AND SUFFERING
by Kevin Patrick Dillon, M.A.R.
Because Juniors begin to internalize the reality of death and suffering during this period of their lives, teachers should provide them with the biblical principles found in the biblical story of Job to give them proper direction.
In teaching Juniors, I have found that their experiences range from accidentally swallowing a magnetized marble and being x-rayed in the emergency room, to having a parent jailed for drug involvement, to living in difficult financial conditions. Juniors need guidelines to assist them in making solid and wise choices.
The best way to reach Juniors is to become a part of their circle of activity. That means more than just seeing them in the classroom once a week. It means spending time with them. By that, I mean visiting in their homes, taking them shopping, and becoming a role model for them. My junior students have gone with me to decent movies, played with me on playgrounds, and walked with me on nature trails. They have accompanied me on visitations, helped change the marquee in front of our building, and helped with painting and landscaping work. Under my supervision, we have worked on their school projects (such as building model volcanoes or igloos). I have met their relatives and friends, and they still like me–even though I have been honest with them that I do not like their pets!
Reaching Juniors means that you know whether they like pretzels and what their friends at school are doing. It means that they feel comfortable enough with you to share with you a current problem or to ask you a question.
The New Living Bible Lessons Junior 6 Fall Quarter is a block of study entitled “Patience, Prayer, and Proverbs.” The first lesson (Job: God’s Good Servant) equips them with a classic, extreme example of how rough life can be. It shows them how happiness can be found in being faithful to God, even though one does not understand all the elements in the rationale for suffering. It gives them a real biblical hero (of much more practical value than the fantasy super hero we viewed together at the theater) with whom to identify. Use the attendance chart in the accompanying visual packet to gauge their faithfulness, and reward it. Emphasize Hebrews 10:25 and the necessity of regular edification and encouragement in order to help Juniors maintain a faithful life. Let them know that attendance is especially important to help other students in the class develop better coping skills.
The visual aid showing Job’s wealth can jump-start a meaningful discussion when you ask the Junior students what modern concepts of wealth and prosperity might be. Talking about the devastations of Tsunami, Katrina, and 9/11 will help them identify with suffering on a global or national level. Eliciting experiences of severe injury or death in their own families will bring the reality of suffering home for them.
To make the lesson on Job come alive, review the poster showing Job seated in ashes, scraping off his boils with a broken piece of pottery. At just the right moment, open the door to your classroom to reveal a visitor–“Job.” Ask an elder or deacon in your congregation to don a dilapidated terry cloth bathrobe and sandals. Glue torn bits of an ugly brown sponge to stickers. Ahead of time, have “Job” apply the stickers (“boils”) all over his face, arms, and legs. When he enters the room, make sure he moans, groans, and appears generally miserable, but have him assure your class that he still trusts in God–no matter what. He can exit the room at that point, and you can further your discussion about his suffering and loss. Toward the end of the session (after “Job” has removed his “boils”), he can return in a bright new robe with a cheerful and exuberant attitude, thanking God for his new-found wealth and blessings. This impression will not soon fade!
The most important thing to do now is to have the students relate the principles of Job’s faithfulness in suffering in such a way that they can internalize them for practice in a problem they might face. Ask a Junior how he could respond like Job if a flood should sweep away his home or if he should suffer an accident and lose a leg. He will get the point! The story of Job, as taught in New Living Bible Lessons, will aid you in accomplishing this aim.
by Kevin Patrick Dillon, M.A.R.
Because Juniors begin to internalize the reality of death and suffering during this period of their lives, teachers should provide them with the biblical principles found in the biblical story of Job to give them proper direction.
In teaching Juniors, I have found that their experiences range from accidentally swallowing a magnetized marble and being x-rayed in the emergency room, to having a parent jailed for drug involvement, to living in difficult financial conditions. Juniors need guidelines to assist them in making solid and wise choices.
The best way to reach Juniors is to become a part of their circle of activity. That means more than just seeing them in the classroom once a week. It means spending time with them. By that, I mean visiting in their homes, taking them shopping, and becoming a role model for them. My junior students have gone with me to decent movies, played with me on playgrounds, and walked with me on nature trails. They have accompanied me on visitations, helped change the marquee in front of our building, and helped with painting and landscaping work. Under my supervision, we have worked on their school projects (such as building model volcanoes or igloos). I have met their relatives and friends, and they still like me–even though I have been honest with them that I do not like their pets!
Reaching Juniors means that you know whether they like pretzels and what their friends at school are doing. It means that they feel comfortable enough with you to share with you a current problem or to ask you a question.
The New Living Bible Lessons Junior 6 Fall Quarter is a block of study entitled “Patience, Prayer, and Proverbs.” The first lesson (Job: God’s Good Servant) equips them with a classic, extreme example of how rough life can be. It shows them how happiness can be found in being faithful to God, even though one does not understand all the elements in the rationale for suffering. It gives them a real biblical hero (of much more practical value than the fantasy super hero we viewed together at the theater) with whom to identify. Use the attendance chart in the accompanying visual packet to gauge their faithfulness, and reward it. Emphasize Hebrews 10:25 and the necessity of regular edification and encouragement in order to help Juniors maintain a faithful life. Let them know that attendance is especially important to help other students in the class develop better coping skills.
The visual aid showing Job’s wealth can jump-start a meaningful discussion when you ask the Junior students what modern concepts of wealth and prosperity might be. Talking about the devastations of Tsunami, Katrina, and 9/11 will help them identify with suffering on a global or national level. Eliciting experiences of severe injury or death in their own families will bring the reality of suffering home for them.
To make the lesson on Job come alive, review the poster showing Job seated in ashes, scraping off his boils with a broken piece of pottery. At just the right moment, open the door to your classroom to reveal a visitor–“Job.” Ask an elder or deacon in your congregation to don a dilapidated terry cloth bathrobe and sandals. Glue torn bits of an ugly brown sponge to stickers. Ahead of time, have “Job” apply the stickers (“boils”) all over his face, arms, and legs. When he enters the room, make sure he moans, groans, and appears generally miserable, but have him assure your class that he still trusts in God–no matter what. He can exit the room at that point, and you can further your discussion about his suffering and loss. Toward the end of the session (after “Job” has removed his “boils”), he can return in a bright new robe with a cheerful and exuberant attitude, thanking God for his new-found wealth and blessings. This impression will not soon fade!
The most important thing to do now is to have the students relate the principles of Job’s faithfulness in suffering in such a way that they can internalize them for practice in a problem they might face. Ask a Junior how he could respond like Job if a flood should sweep away his home or if he should suffer an accident and lose a leg. He will get the point! The story of Job, as taught in New Living Bible Lessons, will aid you in accomplishing this aim.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
