Every year I share in the chapel duties for our Church preschool. Being a type-A, I like to plan it out for the entire year. I will be given 12 opportunities (give or take) to grab and keep the attention of 60 preschoolers. Yes, I am willing to be crazy and loud and funny in order to accomplish this.
Sometimes it works. Other times my wife, who is the preschool director, just gives me the nod as my signal to pray and close and hope for better the next time. After all, sometimes leading a mini-Bible study with little ones is like herding cats, although I've never actually tried this.
To give you an idea, I have tried many extreme object lessons; juggling, dancing, playing guitar, telling silly stories, etc. Mid-stream I will have one of these young kids raise their hands. I mistakenly assume they are about to ask some good theological question based on my amazing teaching. More often I hear their new dog's name or some silly comment about bodily functions.
Sigh.
The challenge is always to find a topic or verse that can be broken up into small toddler-size chunks. So one year I chose to teach the fruit of the spirit, since it’s a nice list. Another year I focused on stories of Jesus interacting with different people. This year I thought I might tackle the topic of love. 1 Corinthians gives us a nice memorable list. The kids might even memorize a few verses along the way.
After reading it through a couple of times, I realized how complex love can be. But I will forge ahead because, after all, it is the most excellent way. I’ll post my chapel ideas here and let you know how it’s going.
Sometimes it works. Other times my wife, who is the preschool director, just gives me the nod as my signal to pray and close and hope for better the next time. After all, sometimes leading a mini-Bible study with little ones is like herding cats, although I've never actually tried this.
To give you an idea, I have tried many extreme object lessons; juggling, dancing, playing guitar, telling silly stories, etc. Mid-stream I will have one of these young kids raise their hands. I mistakenly assume they are about to ask some good theological question based on my amazing teaching. More often I hear their new dog's name or some silly comment about bodily functions.
Sigh.
The challenge is always to find a topic or verse that can be broken up into small toddler-size chunks. So one year I chose to teach the fruit of the spirit, since it’s a nice list. Another year I focused on stories of Jesus interacting with different people. This year I thought I might tackle the topic of love. 1 Corinthians gives us a nice memorable list. The kids might even memorize a few verses along the way.
After reading it through a couple of times, I realized how complex love can be. But I will forge ahead because, after all, it is the most excellent way. I’ll post my chapel ideas here and let you know how it’s going.
Comments