RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Last year, I wrote about the most engaging kids' show ever made for preschoolers.

What was the show?  Can you guess it?

The most engaging show ever created for preschoolers was Blue's Clues.  

Blue's Clues first aired on the Nickelodeon channel in September of 1996. 

Blue was an animated blue dog and Steve Burns was the host.  The show allowed kids to be involved in the story as they helped figure out what plans Blue had for the day.  Blue would leave a trail of clues for kids to follow and Steve would help them.  The story format drew kids in. 

The producers combined key findings from child development and early-childhood education to make the show irresistible for preschoolers.  

It was the highest rated show for preschoolers in the U.S. and has been called one of the most successful, critically acclaimed and ground-breaking preschool series of all time.  It has been nominated for 9 Emmy Awards.  It was on TV through 2011. 

The producers also used a genius idea to make the show even more engaging.  They brought in groups of kids to watch the episodes before they went to TV.  They watched for times when the kids looked away.  This meant they were bored with that part of the show and their attention had disengaged.  The producers then went back and tweaked or changed those parts before the episode aired. 

The show was so engaging and popular, that it is being brought back to TV this year.  It will be interesting to see how today's kids will interact and engage with it.  

There are many valuable tips we can get from Blue's Clues.  

Make your lessons interactive.  Create opportunities for kids to verbally converse with your lesson.  Take a tip from Blue's Clues and initiate questions rather than demanding kids sit still and quiet. 

Here is a great idea. Watch the clip below from Blue's Clues.  See how they talk to preschoolers.  See how they draw kids into the story.  See how they ask key questions to keep kids engaged.  

Another great idea.  Watch the preschoolers during your lesson.   Make notes about when they are engaged.  When they are not engaged.  When the participate.  When they don't want to participate.  Go back and tweak or drop those parts of the lesson or service.

And check out the new Blue's Clues shows that will air later this year. There's a lot you can learn from the most engaging kids' show ever.
 

Our goal when we teach kids should not just be about dishing out content, but about making sure the truth we share transfers into their long-term memory.  Simply put, we want God's Word to get stuck in their head for life. 

One of the most powerful tools you can use to accomplish this is music.  Research shows that when kids are involved with music, more areas of their brains are engaged.  The result is better focus and better memory.

Most of the kids sitting in your room on Sunday have a natural response to music, so when you tap into that response, it makes learning much more effective.  Here's 5 ways you can use music to enhance your lesson, engage kids and help them remember what you teach long-term.

Use music to help kids worship.
This is an obvious one.  Use music to help kids engage in worshipping God.  Worship ushers kids into God's presence and prepares their hearts to receive the truth you will share with them.  Here are some of the music resources I recommend with links.

Yancy
Hillsong Kids
Go Kids - We've Come Alive
Elevation Church eKidz - One in a Million
Gateway Next - Look Up
Amber Sky Records

Use music to help kids memorize scripture.  
Scripture set to music is a great way to help kids memorize God's Word.  Here's an example of how we recently did this in our ministry to help kids memorize Jeremiah 29:11. 



A great resource that sets Scripture to music is JumpStart3.  JumpStart3 creates modern music that hides God’s Word in kids' hearts.  Every song is word-for-word Scripture.  They've created a fun system of memorization that combines visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles to make Scripture stick.  Be sure to check them out. 

Use music to help kids remember lesson truths and Bible stories.  
You can do this by having kids make up songs based on key truths or Bible stories.  Studies show that when kids make up a song using facts they are given, it cements the facts into their long-term memory.  Want a flashback example?  Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he...

Use music to help set the tempo of the lesson.
Music is a great way to adjust the tempo of your lesson.  Fast background music can bring energy and excitement to games.  Medium speed background music can help discussion times be more engaging.  Slow, prayer background music can bring a spirit of reverence during prayer time. 

Use music to give kids opportunities to express their creativity.
Kids long for opportunities to use their natural creative energy.  When you give them the opportunity to participate in singing, express God's Word through songs and create lyrics based on the truth you've given them, they will respond with engagement.

Okay.  The floor is yours.  How do you use music to enhance your lessons?  What are some other resources you recommend for kids' worship music?  Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section below.