“NANATOES”

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!