100 Best Ideas to Turbocharged your Preschool Ministry (12 page)

Jesus was the master storyteller.
Much of his teaching was done through stories called parables, and people flocked to hear him.
Great communicators are great storytellers.

Tell stories well, and...

• you’ll grab the hearts of preschoolers.
  
• you’ll effectively communicate God’s truth to preschoolers.
  
• you’ll keep preschoolers on the edge of their seats.
  
• parents will drive across town to have their children be a part of your preschool ministry.
  

How do you make your preschool ministry a place where great stories are told?
Remember, it’s about the presentation.
The Bible contains the greatest true stories ever told—and the greatest stories deserve the greatest presentation.
Here’s how to give 110 percent to present them well.

Raise up great storytellers.
Don’t just put anyone on stage.
I’ve made this mistake, and in just a few minutes the kids were completely disengaged.
Look for people God has blessed with the gift of communication.
Cultivate this gift in them, and teach them how to go from being good storytellers to being great storytellers.
Here are a few guidelines I use to grow storytellers.

• Involve the audience in the story. Great storytellers invoke participation and involve everyone. For example, in telling about David and Goliath, bring up two people to play David and Goliath. Then have each half of the room represent one of the two armies. Dramatically guide them through acting out the story while you tell it—except for using a real rock for the slingshot!
  
• Describe the scene. Paint the picture of what it looked like. For David and Goliath, an example would be, “It was a gloomy day. On one side of the valley stood the army of Israel. Across the valley on a rocky hillside camped the army of the Philistines.”
  
• Describe the characters. For example, “They were staring at a giant man named Goliath. He was
  sooo tall!
  His giant spear was like a tree trunk, and he had a huge shield that carried the marks of battles fought and won.”
  
• Vary your voice. Use different voice levels to bring excitement and tension to the story. For example,
  (whispering)
  “Suddenly the Israelites saw the biggest, strongest man they’d ever encountered walk to the edge of the hill. He raised his hands to his mouth and shouted to them
  (loudly)
  , ‘Who dares to come and fight with me?’ ”
  

Use pictures to enhance stories.
It’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words.
The mind reads pictures much faster than words.
Using pictures when you tell a story will immediately enhance it.
Even in our high-tech age, storybooks still work well with preschoolers.
Kids love to gather around a book for Bible time.
Use Bible storybooks that have lots of pictures.

Use videos and DVDs as a format for storytelling.
Movies and DVDs are simply stories.
That’s why children love watching them.
I don’t recommend going totally video, but I do recommend alternating video with live storytelling or using a combination of the two.

Use puppets to tell stories.
Preschoolers love puppets.
Puppets can bring life and energy to a story.

We’ve just opened a new children’s building.
The hallways are designed with storefront buildings that represent Bible stories: Jonah’s Travel Agency, Esther’s Day Spa, Goliath’s Big and Tall Shop, Solomon’s Bank, Joseph’s Coat Shop, Rahab’s Rooftop Inn, and more.
Each building has a brochure holder containing cards that describe its Bible story.
Parents can walk up to a building, pick up a card, and talk about the story with their children.

Our prayer is that the greatest and truest stories ever told will be passed from one generation to the next.

—Dale

I have a confession to make.
It’s probably not the confession you’d expect from a children’s pastor, but I’m going to share it anyway.
It may even seem a little sacrilegious, but...I didn’t like church when I was a kid.

As a child, my family and I were “Chreasters,” which means we only attended church on Christmas and Easter.
Even with my limited church experience, I really didn’t look forward to the days we had to go to church.

One of my earliest memories of church occurred while I was in pre-kindergarten.
I was watching an episode of
Super Friends
when my dad told me it was time to go to church.
I reluctantly got dressed and off we went.
Instead of letting me sit with them in “big church,” my parents dropped me off in Sunday school.

I remember the teacher had us gather around her on the floor for circle time.
Then she told us something from the Bible about a guy who was thrown into a lion’s den and lived to tell about it.
The other kids seemed to know this really well because they could recall all the details from memory.
I have to admit, it seemed like a cool story.
But I thought to myself,
So what?
Sure, the lions didn’t eat the guy, but I never really understood the point.
For me, it was no different from watching the Super Friends defeat their enemies in
Legion of Doom.

How many preschoolers leave our ministries each week asking themselves the same question:
So what?

• They may be able to recite the Bible story verbatim, but they’re missing the point of the story.
  
• We may be teaching them the story of Daniel, but they fail to notice the point of Daniel’s obedience to God and his trust in God no matter what happened in his life.
  
• Our preschoolers may love the story of David fighting a giant but never grasp that it was God’s power working in and through David that killed Goliath, not David’s accuracy with a slingshot.
  

If we want God’s Word to change the lives of the kids in our preschool ministries, we have to answer the question “So what?”
before we can teach them to apply the Word.

Our preschool ministries need to help kids develop heart attitudes, motivations, and actions that are in line with God and his Word.
We have to help them move beyond learning God’s story from the Bible to living out God’s story in their daily lives.
If we can accomplish this each and every Sunday, our kids will gladly turn off their cartoons and come to church to learn how God wants to change them from the inside out.

—Eric

How do you engage preschoolers and their parents?
Visit Playhouse Disney Live at Disneyland or Walt Disney World and you’ll discover the answer.

Preschool families love shared experiences, and that’s what you’ll find at this 22-minute live show designed for preschoolers and their families.
You’ll see preschoolers and parents singing, dancing, and having fun together.
You’ll see parents thrilled that their children are having so much fun, and preschoolers smiling and enjoying a special moment with Mom and Dad.

Plan shared experiences for preschoolers and parents that include the following elements—and families will come!

Interaction
—Interaction is a key element at Playhouse Disney Live.
The host has the children shout out their names, say the magic words so the clubhouse will appear, help look for a character, cheer for characters, and constantly help.
Use lots of interaction instead of having children sit passively.
When children are involved, they’re engaged!

Movement
—There’s lots of dancing, moving, and motions.
Preschoolers love to move...they were made for it.
You can fight it, or you can guide it into positive expression.
Give preschoolers lots of opportunities to move.

Puppets
—Puppets appear throughout Playhouse Disney Live.
The voices are prerecorded, and excellent puppeteers provide the action.
Puppets capture preschoolers’ attention.

Songs
—Music and songs are an integral part of the show.
Preschoolers join in, sing along, and do the motions.
The songs are fun, peppy, and happy.
Engage preschoolers with fun, happy, peppy worship songs.

Bubbles
—In one part of the show, bubbles come down by the thousands...and the children love it!
Get a bubble machine; they’re not that expensive.
Use it and watch the smiles appear.

Video and lights
—Video images are projected and lights flash throughout the show.
Preschoolers love videos and fun lights.
Plan ways you can incorporate both into your experiences for preschoolers and their families.

Fun, bright colors
—The stage and set at Playhouse Disney Live are decorated with bright colors.
Decorate your preschool area with kid-friendly colors.

Happy, energetic leaders
—An energetic, happy, college-age girl hosts Playhouse Disney Live.
Her smile and fun spirit connected immediately with the preschoolers.
Look for leaders who love being with preschoolers and are full of energy.

Stories
—The show told stories; several of the puppets were involved in telling a story.
Preschoolers love stories, and we have the greatest true stories ever told.

Variety
—Playhouse Disney Live knows that preschoolers have very short attention spans.
Every couple of minutes something new grabs kids’ attention.
The stage set transforms several times.
No segment goes longer than a minute or two.
A song...a puppet coming up...a video image bursting out...a light change...everything moves quickly.
For 22 minutes, short attention spans are continually reset and held.

If you’re ever at Disneyland or Walt Disney World, stop by Playhouse Disney Live to pick up even more tips on capturing the attention of today’s preschoolers—as well as their parents’ appreciation.

—Dale

On average, each child in our preschool ministries likely receives less than 90 minutes of our time and attention each week.
So how do we make sure every second we have with each child counts?
These simple concepts stated 2,400 years ago by Confucius are still relevant today:

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

To create lessons that stick with children, we need to turn our preschool ministries into learning experiences where kids are actively learning and not just being passive receivers.
The latest brain research tells us that children learn best when they’re involved with their whole bodies—seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling.
When planning a lesson, let the curriculum be a tool that can help you, but don’t let it stifle your creativity.
Instead think in terms of teaching through the senses.
You’ll end up with a more effective preschool ministry and children who’ll enthusiastically tell their parents about their experiences—plus you’ll feel more enthusiastic about teaching.

Each week ask yourself these questions as you prepare:

• What does it look like? This can be very simple. For example, teach the lesson to your preschoolers in a tent, or throw a blanket over a table and have all the children climb underneath. Use simple visuals such as light sticks and glow-in-the-dark stars, or create amazement by adding red food coloring to water to turn it into “wine.” Thinking in this manner enables you to break free from the one-dimensional trap we so easily fall into.
  
• What does it smell like? Some researchers say that inhalation is the most direct route between the outside world and our brains. There are many ways to incorporate the sense of smell into your lessons. If you’re teaching the lesson of Abraham, Sarah, and the three visitors, bring in fresh, hot food, such as lamb, so kids can experience enticing aromas. Scents are available in many forms and can be a fun way to turn your environment into part of the story.
  
• What does it feel like? Don’t underestimate the importance of the sense of touch. Use items such as lambskin or deerskin. Or if you’re teaching about a blind man, blindfold children and have them use their sense of touch to identify items in a bag.
  
• What does it sound like? Music is a “free ride” in learning that greatly enhances our retention of information. Use songs to help preschoolers learn Bible stories and biblical principles.
  
• What does it taste like? We usually give our preschoolers a snack, so why not make sure it reinforces the lesson? Let kids taste foods that are mentioned in the lesson, or use food to illustrate an element in the Bible. For instance, represent the Red Sea with red-colored gelatin, and let kids have fun eating while you discuss the Israelites’ escape from Egypt.