Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Eyes Wide Open Renamed and Moved

I've decided to rename and move Eyes Wide Open. The new name is Leading Kids Today and can be found at leadingkidstoday.com.

I hope you'll bookmark the new site or subscribe via an RSS feed or e-mail (the e-mail option will be added soon to the new site.)

May God empower you and bless you lead kids to Him!
Carolyn

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Three Ways to Engage Energetic Kids

Diana has been asked to lead a small group of kids at her church. She’s excited about this prospect and works hard to prepare for her first lesson. She loves kids and has always wanted to get involved in children’s ministry.

Within minutes after she arrives, Diana notices that one of the boys in her group is more energetic than the rest and has a hard time staying focused. He’s similar to the little boy in this video:




If she lines the kids up, he quickly moves out of line. If she has the kids sit in a circle, in no time, he’s wiggling around on the floor . If she has the kids recite their verse together, he’s very loud and not in sync with the rest of the group. When she gives the kids a chance to color, he breaks the crayons in half instead of coloring.

An hour later, Diana leaves church exhausted and wonders if anyone got anything out of her well thought-out lesson. She isn’t quite sure what to do, but she knows she’s got to come up with a plan before next Sunday.

Learning to manage kids who have trouble focusing in small group environments is extremely important. The percentage of kids in our culture who have trouble focusing is large enough that nearly every small group is bound to have at least one child who brings an abundance of energy to the group.

Since experience is the best teacher, I’ve asked several seasoned children’s leaders for suggestions on how to help energetic kids stay focused during small group time. I’ll share three of them this week and more next week.

1. Embrace opportunities to work with kids w
ho challenge you.

Leslie, one of the small group leaders at our church and the mother of a special needs child, wrote,
“I just remember thinking to myself, quite often, that my son’s teachers just wanted him out of there because he's different. I was a little sensitive but I know that's the way the human mind works, to weed out the difficulties so things will be easier. So try to keep away the mindset that it would be so much easier to run this group if so and so weren't here.

We need to be reminded that the Bible says that God will give us challenges, not as a test, but as a character builder for our lives. It's not always easy to handle these kids, but it's obviously God's will that they be with us for the short time that we are entrusted with them.”
Children’s ministry leaders need to embrace opportunities to work with kids who are a bit more challenging because those kids need to experience the love of God in tangible ways. Additionally, as we accept opportunities to lead all types of children, our leadership skill set will improve and our character will be built. What seems difficult today may not seem difficult in six months if we accept opportunities to grow.

2. Stay focused on the positive.

Kids who struggle to focus are aware of the fact that they challenge adults and, because of this, they often feel unwanted. They need to sense from you that they are loved and accepted.

If you frequently say things like “Stop that” or “Don’t do that,” they’ll sense that you'd prefer they weren't in your group.

Instead of focusing on their negative actions, you can redirect their behavior in a way that shows them you really care about them and are glad they're in your group. For example, if a child is breaking crayons, instead of saying, “Billy, don’t do that,” you could say, “Billy, can you please hand me a crayon so I can write draw the verse for everyone?” This takes the focus off the behavior you want to curb, redirects the child’s attention to the lesson and sends the message to the child that he has something valuable to contribute to the group.

3. Adapt activities to include additional movement.

It’s possible that the kids who are struggling to stay focused in your group have a disorder, like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is caused by a lack of chemical stimulation to the brain so children with ADHD compensate by creating other stimulation, like constantly moving or making noises.

By adapting your activities to include more movement, you will reduce the need for these children to create stimulation on their own. For example, instead of just having kids verbally recite a verse, you could have the kids get in a single-file line and march around the room shouting out a word of the verse with each step. Getting them involved both verbally and physically will help them stay focused and also increase the likelihood that they will remember what you are trying to teach them.

5th Grade boys spelling out LOVE

This is a perfect example of getting kids physically involved in the lesson. Instead of just having kids talk about love, the leaders had them spell out the virtue with their bodies first. It was a fun, physical way to introduce a topic in small group.

As you prepare lessons, look for ways to add movement into each activity.

Thank you Leslie, Dawn, Linda, Louise, Rowley and Cindy for sharing your ideas and Steve and Vicki for sharing your LOVE pic! What about you? What are some ways you help energetic kids stay engaged during group time?

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Knockin' on Heaven’s Door

Wow! A new year of ministry has just begun! What an exciting and busy time for all of us who are involved in helping kids find and follow Jesus. I always approach the new year with a high level of anticipation because I know new kids will come to church, which means more kids will get to learn how awesome God is. With each passing year, I also love to watch kids grow in their understanding of who God is and how they can know Him better and love Him more.

For those of us who are responsible for preparing lessons, Bible stories, worship sets, craft activities, games or other activities for kids, it’s tempting to think the success of our ministry is solely dependent on our ability to prepare and execute well. Being prepared IS vital, but it’s not the most important way to ensure success.

If you are desperate for God to use you to influence kids this year, the first step toward being effective is to pray.

Why should I pray?
We should bathe our ministry in prayer because “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16 (NLT).

Make sure to keep your priorities in the right order.
  • Prep without prayer is pointless.
  • Prayer without prep is laziness.
  • Prep bathed in prayer is powerful.
When should I pray?
If you want God to work powerfully through you this year, pray regularly for your ministry. Connecting this prayer time with something else you already do is one way to ensure consistency. You might want to choose one of these activities and commit to praying for your ministry then.

Pray while you are:
  • brushing your teeth
  • shaving
  • taking a shower
  • waiting at stop lights
  • driving to or from school or work
  • doing the dishes
  • folding laundry
  • exercising
What should I pray for?
If, after 30 seconds, you’ve exhausted all your prayer topics and you aren’t quite sure what to say next, take a look at my previous post on prayer. This is in no way an exhaustive list, but it’s a great start.

Jesus encourages us to be persistent in our prayer, so go ahead. Knock on heaven’s door. And then, knock some more. And some more. And more.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Why subscribe to Eyes Wide Open?

The best way to make sure you don’t miss any articles posted on Eyes Wide Open is to have each post sent directly to your e-mail as soon as it is added to the blog. You can do this easily by typing your e-mail address in the box to the right and then clicking “Subscribe.”

Once you do that, new posts will automatically be sent to your e-mail address so you don’t need to make a special “trip” to Eyes Wide Open.

If you’d like to comment on a blog entry (I encourage you to so more people can be involved in the discussion), just click on the title of the article in the e-mail message and it will take you to the blog site. Scroll down and click the “comments” link.

Thanks so much for reading Eyes Wide Open. I pray that these tips are an encouragement to you and provide you with some practical tips for making your small group the best ever!

Remember, your labor is not in vain!

Carolyn