This week, I got the opportunity to meet a lot of the children in the classroom and get to know their names and a little bit about their personality. There were about 25 children in the class. There's definitely a wide array of personalities in this group. There's Corey and Michael, who seem to find it a statistical impossibility to sit still. There's Dora, Carmen, Leo, and Miguel, the soft-spoken and shy hispanic group of siblings. Then there are several eager learners in Savajia, Javion, Sha'Heem, and Amari.
The lesson this week was on Isaiah 49:16. "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" As Jessica, the "Master Teacher" I am observing, began the lesson, it took quite some time to get the kids settled down. Once they did though, for the most part, they were all ears. There were a few instances though where the kids attention was lost, and they all seemed to be after Jessica was speaking for too long without involving them. I noticed that even Javion, who always seems eager to answer questions, was zoning out.
My questions this Week:
What could have been done to keep the kids engaged in the lesson?
What do I want to get out of this entire experience?
What would be the best means to go about building a relationship with these children?
How can I help Jessica as she teaches?
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ReplyDeleteSounds like a great group to be a part of! My mom has taught younger kids in Sunday school for quite a while and she has found that it always seems to work better to do one of two options. First, you could begin with the lesson right off the bat, which is easier said than done gaining their attention. Or secondly, you could teach for a while then give them a craft to do, or a paper to fill out to keep their attention focused on the lesson. Who knows, they may even learn more from making a paper cut out of a biblical character, than listening to us talk for an hour.
ReplyDeleteBuilding relationships with young children has been an interesting experience for my life. I know that having five cousins under the age of 8 has made me see that building these relationships takes place differently depending on their personalities. My two oldest cousins, of those five anyway, are both boys and love to wrestle with me. I know that wrestling in church may not be the answer but maybe taking them outside and just having a good time running around for ten or fifteen minutes would definitely help to get the relationship started.
As far as helping Jessica, just constantly be asking what you can do to help. This will do two things. It will let her know that you are eager to help her out and it will allow her to feel more comfortable in giving you something to do because she will see that you are passionate about being there to help.
<>< Chris
1. I have never tried to teach an object lesson to kids through an Isaiah passage. That being said I dont know how to do this, becuse I see that being extrememly hard to spark interest at such a young age.
ReplyDelete2. I cannot tell what you want to get out of the expeirience, but that class is not about you or your feelings, it is about those kids who are reaching out for love.
3. Stability is the best way to do it.
4. Be there for her to do what she needs. That is what you can do. And the Kingdom can always use prayer warriors.
In Christ,
Joey
To get ten posts done by December is hard... we have only about seven weeks left until December (including Thanksgiving week) so you might do some substitute practicums so you still have ten by the end to get Quality points even if you lose the on-time credit... --coach d
ReplyDelete