RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY: comfort

Showing posts with label comfort. Show all posts

Helping Kids Deal with Scary Times

6:52 AM Dale Hudson

The recent attack in Brussels is another reminder that we live in scary, uncertain times. It's hard enough to deal with these times as an adult much less as a child.

We wish we could totally shelter children from the pain and tragedy of the world we live in, but that's not possible.

Friends and family members pass away, disturbing events occur, sickness comes, natural disasters happen and acts of terrorism are committed.

This is the broken world in which we live. And how we help kids process these things makes a difference. Here's some tips to help kids deal with scary times.

Share the news. When something happens that will get major news coverage, don't delay in telling your children what has happened. You want your child to hear it from you. He or she will receive it much better if it comes from you. This also allows you to convey the facts and set the emotional tone for how the news is given. You should also be developmentally appropriate when sharing. Don’t volunteer too much information if the child is younger.

Let your child ask questions. Invite your child to ask questions about what has happened. Be prepared to answer questions about anything that upsets your child.

Stay calm. It's okay to let your child know you are sad about what has happened...but don't freak out. If you are highly emotional, your child will absorb your emotions and reflect them. Remain calm. Your child will pick up on this and intuitively grasp from you that even though tragic events can upset our lives, we can get through them.

Give your child assurance. When children hear about things like acts of terrorism, they are likely to wonder if this could happen to them. It's important to reassure your child that it is an unusual event and safety measures are in place to prevent this from happening to them. You can also assure your child that the authorities are working to prevent it from happening again.

Help your child express his or her feelings. Children do this in different ways. Some will talk...some will draw pictures...some will share memories...however your child wants to do so...encourage them to express how they are feeling.

Spend extra time with your child. One of the best things you can do to help your child feel safe is spend time with him or her.

Stick with routines. Children find comfort in routines. Keep their routines as normal as possible.

By taking these steps, you can help your child build healthy coping skills that will help them now and for the rest of their lives.

How to Help Kids Overcome Separation Anxiety

6:46 AM Unknown

Separation anxiety is a common issue that will you face in Children's Ministry. It usually surfaces during drop-off time. In this short video, I share some tips about how to help children who are experiencing this.

Posted by Dale Hudson

Are You Using This Effective Teaching Method In Your Children's Ministry?

7:01 AM Unknown

God loves variety. Think of all the wonderful varieties of plants, animals, colors, and fish He created. Think about all the different types of people He created. It would be boring if we were all the same! He also created kids with a variety of learning styles.

The effective Children's Ministry recognizes this and seeks to engage all learning styles.

Linguistic Learners have sensitivity to the meaning and order of words. They use an expanded vocabulary. They respond to jokes, riddles, reading, writing, telling stories, and word games.

Logical-Mathematical Learners like reasoning, patterns, and order. They want to know how things work, ask lots of questions, and collect things. They respond to puzzles, blocks, and counting devices.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Learners enjoy sports and physical activity. They respond to body language, dance, acting, and active games.

Musical Learners are sensitive to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone. They love to listen to and play music, sing, hum, move to rhythm, and create tunes.

Spatial Learners perceive the world accurately and recreate or transform aspects of that world. They like to doodle, paint, draw, build with blocks, puzzles, mazes, and taking things apart and putting them back together again.

Naturalist Learners recognize and classify the numerous species of an environment. They like to spend time outdoors observing plants, collecting rocks, and catching insects. They love nature.

Interpersonal Learners are all about people and relationships. They have many friends. They are good mediators and team players. They enjoy group games and discussions.

Intrapersonal Learners use their emotional life to understand themselves and others. They control their feeling and emotions. They do a lot of observing and listening. They do best when working alone. They enjoy cameras, drawing pads, journals and questions about their experiences and emotions.

How to use the learning styles...

Make a grid with the above learning styles. As you prepare your lesson, run it through the grid and incorporate as many learning styles as possible. Over the course of a few lessons, you should hit all the learning styles.

Here's an example. Let's take the story of Jonah and the Whale and run it through the grid.

Linguistic – Dramatically tell the story to them. Then have them re-tell it to someone else in the room.

Logical-Mathematical – Have them put together a puzzle of Jonah and the Whale.

Bodily-Kinesthetic - Have them act out the story.

Musical – Sing a song about the story.

Spatial – Have them draw a picture of the story.

Naturalist – Bring some seaweed for them to touch or a picture of a large fish for them to look at.

Interpersonal – Have them play a group game and discuss the story with friends.

Intrapersonal – Ask them questions and have them draw pictures about how they would have felt if they were Jonah.

Your teachers will have a tendency to teach out of their own learning style because it's their comfort zone. Challenge them to engage all learning styles. When that happens children will be excited about coming to church because they will be learning in style...their style, that is!

How do you incorporate learning styles into your lessons?

What are some creative things you have done with some of these learning styles?

Share your thoughts with other readers in the comment section below.

Posted by Dale Hudson