5 More DOS and DONTS of Teaching Kids

Last year I did a post on 5 DOS and DONTS of Teaching Kids. As I’ve taught since then I realized there were a few tips I missed. Here’s 5 more:

6. DO ~~take~~ make time to prepare
A lot of times when I hear people give advice about time management they say to “take” time for certain activities. This is misleading. You have to MAKE time for them. If you don’t, they’ll never get done. I make time to practice aloud in the room I’ll be teaching in the days leading up to the weekend. I also time myself so I don’t go over when I do it for real.

7. DONT forget HOW you teach is just as important as WHAT you teach
This is something people who teach in the church forget about. A lot. Here are six factors to be mindful of when presenting God’s Word to kids:

Inflection: Raise and lower your voice at appropriate times.
Body Position: 60 – 80% of all communication is non verbal.
Cadence: Vary the speed of your voice and delivery.
Demeanor: What is your face saying?
Smile: It’s the least expensive way to improve your looks.
Humor: The shortest distance between two people is laughter.

8. DO pray beforehand
We can have the best curriculum money can buy, a killer worship set, and the coolest videos. But if God doesn’t show up souls won’t be transformed. Make space in your schedule to listen to God. Soak your preparation and your presentation in prayer.

9. DON’T read from the curriculum
This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. This screams you’re not prepared. This communicates what you have to say isn’t very important to you. If it doesn’t matter to you, why should it matter to your kids? God’s Word deserves better than that and so do the kids in your ministry.

10. DO get honest feedback afterwards
No matter how well you teach there is always room for improvement. Ask other teachers who are good at what they do to give you feedback. I usually wait a day or two so I can be more objective. Tape yourself and watch it later during the week. This will help you notice weak spots and improve next time.