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Begin the class with a prayer. Oops, I always don't do this :S
What ticks:
Spell and count. Kids love to imitate and be able to do these right. spell J-e-r-i-c-h-o. Count the number of times Joshua circled the walls.
Show picture - highlight important features, somewhat like the picture part for primary sch oral exams. Kids love to see pictures. Tried and tested.
Round the story up with a bible verse and/or song to reinforce the memory.
Throughout the lesson, constantly give encouragement. Lost track of the number of times Zoe said "yea~!"
Use colours. Coloured construction paper. Use shapes.
Hands-on activity. Piece together. Match up. Give a demo - she was doing for things that roll and things that doesn't roll.
What doesn't tick:
Asking comprehension type of questions. They really just don't understand. The moment they don't understand, you lose. They run all over the place, if not physically then mentally. There's no getting them back from that point.
Doing an activity for more than 15min. Experienced this at last year's retreat... Totally draining to keep changing activity. I knew i loved to do cutting and colouring when I was young... wonder if i sat through that or I also keep getting distracted..?!!
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Other reflections:
Handling kids is a huge xue2 wen4. Kids just love to interrupt and ask silly questions that are soooooooo no link. To top it off, they'll totally forget what I teach. Was reading jay's blog about how she hates to repeat things, she just want to say it ONCE and whoever it is jolly well write it down and go think about it. I'm the same pattern, was LOL while reading that entry. I really hate to repeat myself. Frustrations are aplenty, yet, it is so important to teach them that these frustrations are nothing. Time for perseverance.
Very thankful for May Nar who studied child psychology to pre-warn us that kids this age are egoistic everything they must have one copy, their own pencil and glue etc. It really saved me a lot of unnecessary stress - i can so imagine myself nagging at the kids to share when it's just not of their maturity to understand the concept of sharing. It's really a huge xue wen to bring kids up according to their pace... I wonder if i'm instilling the right values to them...
the boldest thing I've ever done yet:
In a way wanting to refute the notion that 3ish are egoistic, believing in their good nature, i asked if anyone would like to help me to distribute the worksheets for that day. Wei En and Jovan volunteered! So I gave Wei En (by favouritism, oops!) the worksheets to distribute and he did it really well. Each person one piece. he didn't come back to me for credit. Not wanting to disappoint Jovan, gave him the glue to distribute. Hmm at the end of it, i don't think i refuted the notion that 3ish are egoistic, but I'm heartened to see them being orderly and following instructions and in a way, learning to be responsible for their peers. There are so many things I want to teach them, lessons are just so not enough.
So, that and to build bonds with the kids, I make it a point to sit around after each class and not disappear with the youths. I don't want our relationship to dim to a teacher-student relationship; I want to be their friends. Wei En is totally warmed up with me, so are Jovan and Tian Le. Nathania is mostly moody, pray that the ice will melt soon. I believe this is the right step to take, though I often do not understand their kids talk, but perhaps it's just being around and caring enough. So I will continue doing this. It's also really heartening to see them gradually speaking (vs slurring)~! WOOHOOHS~!!
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A constant dilemma/struggle for me:
It's sunday school, time to come near to God, yet we spend more time teaching english than god. Sometimes I wonder if the kids understand what I'm teaching and if my efforts are in vain. Yet when I think of how the Jewish kids can remember the whole Old Testament to heart at the age of 12, I wonder instead if we are underestimating the kids and their power to retain information? Still seeking for the right balance!
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