An axiom lies under all good teaching, “If you want them to learn, engage your audience!” For this reason, preachers constantly search for clever quips, little-known facts, fantastic object lessons, and heart-rending stories to draw in the listener. Jesus used parables. Paul specialized in rhetoric. Yes, when the human brain is engaged, people actually learn. So how do you tell a Bible story that engages? Answer: Through the power of play. The less your toddlers sit and listen, the more they are probably learning. When putting these lessons together, we have attempted to couple every thought with a playful activity. A Bible story is actually a series of group activities united by a common focus. Hopefully, physical participation engages the toddlers’ minds. The end of each lesson, then, contains a handful of fun activities resonating with the lesson objective. Knowing your students’ minds, choose the activities most likely to engage. While toddlers play, they learn. That is just how their minds work. By exploring, they try to make sense of themselves and the complex world around them, so use this to your advantage. Get preaching out of your mind; parables and rhetoric will not work. Even puppets have little appeal unless the toddler is the puppeteer. A toddler has very limited verbal skills, but they have an unquenchable desire to play. Perhaps the best toddler teachers have the dirtiest knees. Have fun teaching this quarter! (Thanks, Chris Anderson, for sharing this insight!)
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 15:05:01 +0000
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