Teach a Sunday School
Whether you have a new teaching job or are just temporarily volunteering, it's important to be able to deal with young children in a Sunday School class. Follow these easy steps to keep your class in control.
Steps
- Get to know the children. Take a few minutes at the beginning of each class to make name tags and play a small game where you point to someone, and they give their name, age, and a hobby or two.
- Have your lesson plan handy. Go in order, but improvise if needed. Go with the flow and remember that these are just little kids, so ANYTHING could happen.
- Have a small scripture reading and then review it with the class. Ask the class questions about the main idea and the details to ensure that they understood it. Ask them the moral of the story, and what lessons it taught. Also, encourage the class to share any real-life stories they have that relate to the lesson.
- Create a unique project for the class involving anything from cutting and pasting to coloring and painting. The ideal class project will be both enjoyable and will somehow relate to the day's lesson.
- Wrap up and review. At the end, ask the kids what their favorite part of the day was. Ask if there was something else they would have enjoyed doing.
- If the school does anything after the class (snacks, videos, games, etc.) to keep the children busy while they wait for their parents to pick them up, begin the activity immediately after class ends.
Tips
- Keep the students focused, and try to stay on a semi-flexible time schedule. Do not wander too far off the subject, but at the same time remember that occasional off-topic class discussions can be very interesting and informative for both the teacher and the class.
- Make sure you are teaching God's word, and they will be eager to hear.
- Talk to the parents about the lesson afterwards. Let them know the good things your child did. Keep the bad things away from the parents, unless it is worrisome, destructive, or is repeated on a day-to-day basis.
Warnings
- Don't teach the traditions of man over the Word of God!
- If you have volunteers help with the class, be sure that they are trustworthy and won't allow the children to behave badly.
- Bear in mind that even the best teachers can't control too many children at once, and some areas even have laws about student-to-adult ratios. If you feel overwhelmed by too many children, consider allowing others to come and help you supervise and entertain the children. Your helpers don't always have to be teachers or have college degrees; it is likely that there are many teenagers, young adults, and possibly parents who would be willing to volunteer.
Things You'll Need
- Craft supplies
- A Bible or other religious book
- Students
