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54. Deep Feeling Children
Simple Thinking or Shallowness?
Many adults confuse "thinking simply" with shallowness. However simple children's thoughts may be, feelings can run deep. Two rivers may flow along at the same rate per minute. The one is wide and shallow as it meanders through a flat grassland. The other is narrow, fast, and deep. Like the narrow river, children appear to be unconcerned, but underneath there courses carry far more depth of feeling than many adults. Like most mothers, my wife had told my eight-year-old daughter to be sure and eat all her lunch and not to waste any of it. That day, Jane hadn't been able to finish her lunch and had thrown part of it away. This incident took on great significance to our small girl later as her feelings ran very deep. A child's growth is a little like a spiral learning staircase. Beginning at ground level, the developing personality travels upward around and around. At each new level, the child may ask a question and an answer given to everyone's apparent satisfaction. Then, when the little one reached the next level, they may repeat the same question and, at the next one, enquire again. To some, the assumption would be that the child hadn't learned the lesson the first time. What we are seeing is the learning process. This one step at a time repeated over and over is the road to maturity. So the barrage of questions never ceases on the way to growth.✞
Sunday School Curriculum
Video 21
The Sunday School Curriculum video introduces teachers to how the Sunday school process works. It introduces teachers to the Sunday school curriculum and how to maximize their effectiveness with the children. They can then work towards maximizing the benefits for the children in their class. A teacher once explained to her class that everybody needed to ask Jesus into their hearts to become a Christian. After the lesson, a puzzled six-year-old asked, "How does Jesus come into my heart, Miss? Through my mouth?" This little girl had visualized this concept in purely physical terms. She had thought of one person (Jesus) entering another person (herself) and assumed that the only way in was down her throat! We must beware of using unexplained spiritual concepts that may be wrongly understood in a purely material sense by children. We need to explain most carefully precisely what we mean. In the process of explaining to the children, we should also be conscious of the effect our words may have on their feelings. The video is 3 minutes long and 2 seconds long and you can view it on YouTube.✞
Sunday School Material
Video 22
This Sunday school material teaching video seeks to help teachers choose the best curriculum for their Sunday school classes. There are all kinds of published Sunday school lessons on the market today and many different options. It is essential to know, therefore, the characteristics of any material you are considering using. You need to make sure that it aligns with your church's theological beliefs. I came across a list of 64 publishers, including five in Spanish in my research. You might inquire at your local Bible shop about what is available or go to your denominational office. Generally, the more extensive publishing house materials which are available appear quite different in that they use a four-color presentation on glossy paper. Compared to much of the denominational material, which is more straightforward, shorter, and often produced on photocopy paper. They are not as attractive as the publishing house materials. Several national companies are making this material as well as one for just about every denomination. There are some pros and cons to both. This video on Sunday School materials will help you decide. It is 2 minutes long and 41 seconds long.✞
Sunday School Syllabus
Video 23
This analysis video presents examines your curriculum and compares it with various other available Christian marketplace materials. Teachers can then see how to improve the teaching materials used with the children in the Sunday school class. Video 23 is 3 minutes long and 41 seconds long. You can view a complete overview of all of the Tellout Online training videos on YouTube.✞
Church School Analysis
Video 24
This curriculum analysis video analyzes your Sunday school curriculum by looking at other materials on the market. You are encouraged to complete an analysis of your own chosen curriculum, perhaps comparing it to one or two others. This video 24 is 2 minutes and 18 seconds long. This process will enable you to get the very best material you can to serve both your teachers and your children.✞
There are a couple of questions to conclude. Ask yourself whether your course is the best that it can be? The most important thing is that the children benefit from and get the most from your teaching. Please think of this in terms of the child rather than the teacher's or the minister's desires. Do some real thinking about your Christian education programs. My prayer is, and I hope that it is yours that we can build healthy and flourishing Sunday Schools with God's help. They will be places where our children can learn about God, and we can care for them in the truest sense that they may come to know him who is "the way, the truth, and the life." God bless you as you seek to minister for him with the children of your church. A complete overview of all of the Tellout Online training videos can be viewed on YouTube.✞
"Deep Feeling Children"
by Ron Meacock © 1982-2021
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