Those tricky 5 year olds!
I am told that the Reception class (5 year olds) is a very challenging age-group to teach. Yes … in some ways it is – teaching an idea simply and making spiritual things concrete so that the children can understand is hard. BUT they are not cynical. They will believe you and get excited if you are.
When planning a lesson there are some key things to keep in mind.
Keep it SIMPLE…
S – Start with your own Quiet time and prayer on the passage you are going to be teaching. Read the passage a couple of times. What is it teaching you? How can this passage make a difference in your thinking during the week? How has your love for God grown?
I – Investigate the story. Using a commentary, study notes provided or a friend, go through the passage and get a clear understanding of what God is teaching about Himself. What does God want these children to know about Him, so their hearts are changed?
Have an understanding of the setting and context. The children live in a modern world and can’t easily relate to biblical times. Will they understand ancient Egypt? Why did a servant wash another’s feet? Don’t assume 5 year olds will work it out. Also ideas and concepts like trust, jealousy, the future, invisibility all need explaining in a way they can relate to.
M – Main point. Summarise the whole story in one sentence. What do you want the children to walk away with from the lesson? Think of a ‘Where’s Wally?’ picture: If you put a lot of detail, characters, locations and ideas in a story then the main point that you are making is like the ‘hidden’ Wally. 5 year olds can generally only concentrate for about 5-6 mins ( 1 minute for every 1 year of age.) Don’t spend that time on the detail.
P- People show their ‘heart’ (attitude to God) by their actions. Sin for this age group is still primarily their actions. We need to show that their actions are motivated by what is in their ‘hearts’. Children at this age understand actions. If they are angry they may kick or hit or if they love someone they would smile, or give a hug. For example, the Egyptian Pharaoh during the plagues, hates God and his actions show that by how he ‘plays’ with God. As the woman washes Jesus‘ feet, she loves Jesus abundantly and her ’over the top’ actions show her love. Make these links for the children.
L – Love for Jesus. Show them your love for Jesus. Be excited about him. You want to show them how wonderful it is to have faith in Jesus. Remember they work in the concrete – they need to see, feel and touch to understand and …. God is spiritual. How you interact with them and how you feel about what you are teaching will ‘show’ them Jesus. That is why we have to have a Quiet time and have our lives touched by God before we can teach kids. We don’t have to have it all sorted and understand it all, but we need to know that God is changing us to be more like Jesus.
E – Explain your main idea as concretely as possible. Use as many visual aids and sensory ideas as possible. For example if you are talking about a desert: bring a tray of sand with some rocks and sticks. A hairdryer so they can feel the ‘heat.’ Remember that their life experiences are minimal, so make sure you put the story into a context they can understand.
Some last hints to help you.
Remember this is God’s work and you are just planting the seed. So if the lesson wasn’t ‘perfect’ – you planted. God will make it grow in His time and His way. For these little ones it may be the first time they have heard this story, but hopefully it won’t be the last time. There is always next week, next month, next year and so on for them to build up the whole picture of a story or event and a start of their relationship with God.
My last piece of advice would be is to PRAY. A lot for yourself and especially the kids.
By Jenni Lau
If you would like to know more about the topic, listen to Jenni’s workshop talk on the same topic.
If you are interested in other tips on teaching Sunday School, check out our training pages or look out for blogs with teaching tips.
