by Paul Chen
- Obey the first time
- Be kind to everyone
- Do your best work
- HAVE FUN!
Throughout my five years as part of Sparklers staff, these four rules have been the backbone of how we structure the classroom and instruct the children. Before joining Sparklers, I did not have any experience interacting with kids, let alone leading a classroom full of 3-4 year-olds. When I started, the class was quite smaller than it is these Sundays. We used to meet in what is now the 2nd nursery room and typically had less than 10 kids. Our staff size was smaller with only 2-3 teachers per class. Today, we’re now in a new room and an “easy” Sunday consists of anything less than 20 children and five teachers. While the size of the room, children and staff have greatly increased, one thing that has always been consistent for as long as I have been in Sparklers is the importance of accurately handling and teaching God’s word.
Obey the first time
When you have a room full of 3-4 year-olds, chances are there will be a select few who are misbehaving. Whether it is asking a child to sit still and pay attention to the lesson or trying to encourage a child to participate in the activities, the instruction is not always followed. We try and reinforce that since their parents are listening to the adult lesson, they need to stay in here. We communicate to the kids that sometimes it is hard to obey because we want to do what we want, and we call that a “my way” heart. With a “my way” heart, God is not pleased and instead wants us to trust Him. God promises that for those who trust in Him, He will always help us when it is hard to obey.
Be kind to everyone
For the most part, the kids are pretty well behaved. There are however instances when the children do not get along. This usually happens during free time when we allow the children to play at different stations we have set up in the room. Inevitably, the boys will usually rush towards the wooden trains and gather as many as they can. Due to the limited number of trains and the desire to amass as many as each can, there will be crying and tattletaling about how so and so has more trains. We would try and get the two boys to talk it out with one asking if he can play with the trains and the other being kind enough to share. We remind the kids about the Passion Statement of our church, “to love God and people,” and sharing is an example of how we can love one another.
Do your best work
After the lesson, we usually get into small groups to go over the lesson and answer some follow-up discussion questions. During small group time we will have coloring sheets, memory verse tracing, or crafts. Some of the younger kids will usually take one crayon and color the entire page scribbling everywhere and say, “I’m done!” We go over with the kids that when we’re coloring or tracing, we want to do our best and stay inside the lines and not just “scribble scrabble.” We explain that God wants us to do our best in everything that we do because He is a perfect God. We may not be able to do everything perfectly, but we have to try to do our best.
HAVE FUN!
We try and make the environment as exciting and engaging as possible through the use of props, skits, crafts and games. The biggest challenge when preparing for a lesson is how do I make the presentation interactive that will hold their attention and at the same time simple enough that 3-4 year-olds will understand? One great example is from the flocks worksheet: “If a child were to ask you what you learned from this Sunday’s sermon, how would you explain it to them?” Even through these challenges, the times I have spent in Sparklers have been rewarding. The staff has been able to come alongside the parents and be able to invest in the younger generation.