Knowing Your Preschooler (part 3)

Spiritual Characteristics
Children at this age
• have a growing sense that God is very special and real rather than pretend.
• tend to have a very literal concept of God, perhaps as a “grandfather” figure who lives “up there.”
• readily accept what you say about God.
• sense that God loves them and cares for them.
• enjoy some Bible stories, especially about Jesus; want stories retold often.
• can develop attitudes of love and trust toward Jesus and God.
• do not yet have a built-in control (conscience) that nudges them toward right behavior for its own sake; do the “right thing” out of fear of punishment or to win approval.
• sense that “church” is a good place to be..
• recite simple prayers ; in some cases may add own ideas to “form” prayers.
Tips for Leaders
• Above all, let the children know that God loves them and cares for them; teach this in the context of common childhood experiences with which the children can identify.
• Let these little ones sense your own wonder and awe about who God is and what God has done.
• Focus on attitudes and actions that exhibit faith.
• When do you teach religious concepts, keep them simple and few: (God loves us; we love and obey God; God is good; Jesus is God’s own Son); repeat them often.

Knowing your Preschoolers (part 2)

Social Characteristics of the Preschooler

Children at this age:

• are blissfully egocentric; see the world through their own eyes.
• are developmentally incapable of understanding another’s perspective or emotions.
• are self-centered, yet are significantly influenced by others, especially mom, dad, teachers, other significant adults.
• are on the verge of experiencing a wider world of people; many young children still want to play alone and must make a real effort to have any meaningful play with others.

Tips for Leaders:

• Accept the children’s developing concepts of themselves without judging their apparent egocentrism.
• Emphasize the theme that we are special to God: we’ve been created by God, belong to God, and are dearly loved by God.
• Recognize that you are a role model for your little ones, someone who is a picture of God’s love and care.
• Encourage cooperative play with others, while remaining sensitive to individual needs for attention and recognition.
• Do your best to make the learning fun; make your room a “safe” and friendly place where kids will want to be every week.

Knowing your Preschoolers (Part 1)

As the teacher, the more you understand the children you are trying to teach the better job you can do. Knowledge of what a preschooler can and can't do also leads to less frustration as we understand more about their abilities. With this in mind, I want to provide you with some charactereisitcs of preschoolers. The following are taken from the Walk With Me Coordinator's Handbook, © Faith Alive Christian Resources, www.faithaliveresources.org Used with permission.

Intellectual Characteristics

Children at this age:

• think very concretely and literally, not abstractly or figuratively as youth and adults do; to a preschool child, things are as they appear to be.
• are not capable of reasoning or organizing abstract faith concepts along logical lines.
• learn through their experiences at home, church, preschool, caregivers.
• learn with their whole bodies; love to taste, touch, move, explore, smell, watch, and wonder.
• are just beginning to develop some literacy skills; some can write their own name, recognize the letters of the alphabet, and count to twenty.
• love to use language to please adults; “right answers” do not necessarily indicate comprehension.
• enjoy being told stories and read to; repetition an important way to learn.
• are often easily distracted from staying “on task.”

Tips for Leaders:

• Try for a reasonable balance between times of quiet listening and active, “hands on” participation
• Relate learning to the experiences children already have or to new experiences you can share with them.
• Give your little ones plenty of opportunity to move around.
• Keep games, stories, and other activities short, with transitional periods that enable movement from one part of the room to the other.
• Provide a variety of learning experiences: stories, art, music, words, numbers, group interaction, etc.
• Avoid using figures of speech, symbolism, analogies.
• Remember that each child develops at his or her own pace; nurture each child’s strengths.

Look for social and spiritual characteristics in the next two articles.

Super Service is the Secret to Success

Have you ever been to a restaurant that had bad service? You probably have. But the real questions is have you ever been to a restaurant with bad service twice? Chances are you haven’t.

Preschool hall can be a make or break area for church growth. When a mom and dad are visiting for the first time and come to drop off their child, mom’s radar is working overtime. She is undoubtedly asking questions like; Is my child safe here? Is the teacher friendly? Will my child be loved?

Furthermore, beyond first time visitors everyone needs and deserves good service. With this thought in mind I want to give you ten steps to good service that will make a great impression on visitors and members alike.

1. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Consider the needs of others as more important than your own. (Philippians 2:3)

2. Smile. (even if you don’t like to smile or don’t feel like it)
Joy comes from the Lord and the promise found in Him, not from your circumstances. (1 Peter 1:8)

3. Greet everyone like they are special because they are!
God loves everyone, shouldn’t you? (John 3:16)

4. Maintain a Christ-like attitude no matter what. (WWJD).
We are called to have the Attitude of Christ. (Philippians 2:5-11)

5. Think kind thoughts about others. (The ministry is all about people)
Love expresses itself by keeping no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:5)

6. Take responsibility for your mistakes.
People want answers not excuses.

7. Be a good listener.
We can often learn much when we choose to listen first. (James 1:19)

8. Look for ways to go beyond what’s expected.
This is a fundamental teaching of Jesus (Mat 5:40-41).

9. Use wisdom.
Look to God for wisdom and he will grant you your wish. (Proverbs 2:1-6)

10. Brag on positive behavior to the parents.
Everyone wants to know that his or her child is loved and wanted. Find one thing good to tell the parents about their child.

Teaching Tips

Here are a few tips for Preschool teachers that I have gathered from various sources. Feel free to add your own by leaving a comment.

• When directing behavior, always keep the expectations successful for each child. i.e. Some kids can wait successfully for 5 minutes while others can wait only one minute.
• Positive reinforcement is the key to behavior guidance as well as prevention.
• Think about what you could change in your environment, routine or even yourself before thinking about changing a child.
• Have fun yourself. If they see you having true fun they will too.
• Support your fellow teachers. Give each other a boost once in a while.

Tips for painting and Art projects

• With young children it is the process, and not the product that counts.
• Art is a time for exploration for young children. Do not be surprised if that cutting project you begin ends up with lots of little snips of paper (Remember it's the process, not the product!).
• Take small plastic sandwich bags and paint containers with lids. To make clean up easier, put a small plastic sandwich bag inside the paint container. Make sure the top of the bag hangs over the edge of the container. Snap the lid on to secure the plastic bag. Just pull out the plastic bag and throw away -- no need to wash the dried up paint out of the container.

Be Positive!

“No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear.” Eph 4:29 (HCSB)

Did you know that you always have an audience? Someone is always listening to you. Even if that someone is God, you are never alone. Why is this important to remember? The way you talk and the things that you say influence those around you. If I only have negative things to say then I will rightly be labeled a negative person. If on the other hand my words are positive and full of affirmation and hope then I will be seen in a different light.

I am actively searching for more leaders to come and serve in the Preschool area. This can be a challenge because of misconceptions about things experienced on the hall. Preschool can be a challenging place to work and some days are filled with rowdy children and crying babies. But I hope for you the joys far outweigh the challenges, and that you will allow those joyous times to become a part of your language when talking to others about serving in the Preschool area. If we are excited about our ministry others will be too.

I am not asking you to be phony. I hope that you genuinely enjoy serving with us in Tiny Cliff Towne, I think that you do. But remember that one complaint about a bad experience registers more than 10 good reports to those considering serving alongside you.

Even beyond preschool, we should be a refreshing presence to those around us. We are Christ followers, and yes from time to time we face hardships and trials that challenge us and sometimes we have downright crappy days. But we have a hope that comes from God that no one can take away. Remember these words found in the book of Hebrews:

“Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope—like a sure and firm anchor of the soul—that enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” Heb 6:17-19

Welcome Leaders

Hello everyone, and welcome to Southcliff's newest resource for Preschool leaders. My desire is to provide useful resources to you the leader, so that you can be more effective in your calling to the preschool ministry. In the near future I will be posting leadership articles, devotions, and lesson helps. Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, and helps that you have learned from your time teaching and loving your students. Together we will make Tiny Cliff Towne a phenomenal preschool ministry that glorifies God and creates a buzz in the Baptist world.