Toddlers on Mission!
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Progressive Education in CM
So I'm thinking maybe this is my philosophy for Children's Ministry. Is there really any better way to have kids grow spiritually than having them develop an active, living dialog with Christ, each other and the world around them? It sounds an awful lot like what Jesus did with the 12 disciples vs. the book learning of the pharisees of his time.
But somehow, I'm just not convinced that this is the key to learning math, however.
Progressive Education - From Wikipedia -
Most progressive education programs have these qualities in common:
* Emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on projects, experiential learning
* Integrated curriculum focused on thematic units
* Strong emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking
* Group work and development of social skills
* Understanding and action as the goals of learning as opposed to rote knowledge
* Collaborative and cooperative learning projects
* Education for social responsibility and democracy
* Integration of community service and service learning projects into the daily curriculum
* Selection of subject content by looking forward to ask what skills will be needed in future society
* De-emphasis on textbooks in favor of varied learning resources
* Emphasis on life-long learning and social skills
* Assessment by evaluation of child’s projects and productions
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KWLS - Kids in Worship, Leadership and Service
Here's how my year is going. Again our group is comprised of 4th through 8th graders. We have around 15 kids who rotate through serving, depending on their schedules. We rehearse/meet once a week and the kids lead a brief children's church service on Sunday mornings. The kids have also started rotating through the classrooms as helpers, and KWLS has become the umbrella for processing other kids/teens for serving in the classrooms.
Positives:
1. The KWLS kids have grown to appreciate their role in the church as leaders. They know they are valued and their opinions matter.
2. The kids and families are excited about the music and are using it in their homes.
3. I have fourth graders chomping at the bit to join this year.
4. Parents are supportive of the commitment to KWLS.
5. Partnership with the other leader has meant we've never had to cancel.
6. Possibilities for outreach have grown.
7. Younger kids are seeing KWLS as caring leaders in their community.
8. Continued desire to add more to what we are doing (new songs, skits, collections, etc).
9. Requests from the adult worship team to involve the kids.
Negatives:
1. Getting some complaints about some 'fairness' issues.
2. Focus has shifted somewhat from wanting to 'serve' - to wanting to do 'what I like.'
3. Having trouble maintaining interest from boys.
4. Burnout on rehearsals.
5. Difficulty with inconsistency in attendance.
6. Still struggling with how to attract older teens and kids who don't want to 'sing and dance.'
7. Still trying to balance performance and worship.
On Thursday, we hope to do a year-end review and tweak some of our procedures for the coming year. In September we will be including the next generation of KWLS by adding the upcoming 4th graders.I am praying that the kids will be open to expressing their opinions and respectful of those who disagree. I am praying that the kids will be able to see how much they have grown over the last year. I am praying that we devise an effective mentoring system for the younger kids coming into the group. I am praying for those who desire to step down to feel accepted and respected for doing so. We will close out the year by having a KWLS & family picnic in August.
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God, you are amazing!
Image by courambel via Flickr
Our theme of the day in VeggieTown was 'being thankful for the gifts that God has given us.' We talked about how we could use our gifts to glorify and help God.
In the adult service, our pastor, Vincent, talked about how God had put him right next to a hurting, angry, teenaged boy on a plane and had used him to minister to the boy. While the boy and his father had no idea who Vincent was (or who he worked for), the boy pointed him out and the father made a point of thanking Vincent for the time he had spent with his son.
Interestingly, at group tonight, one of our group, Cheryl, gained insight into what she had never realized was a gift. The previous day she spent quite a bit of time at a BarBQ talking with a partially deaf woman, and thought nothing of it. Since it was within her comfort zone and she was having fun doing it, since she didn't have to give anything up to do it, and since didn't put her in any danger, she didn't realize that she was working for God. Later in the day, the deaf woman's mother came up to Cheryl and thanked her profusely for spending time with her daughter. This morning, during an illustration in the sermon, Cheryl came to the realization that sometimes God uses us through the gifts he has given us, and sometimes it comes quite easily.
We can't talk our strengths, skills or spiritual gifts too lightly, however, it doesn't have to always be painful or difficult to make an awesome impact for the kingdom.
Don't forget to be thankful this week!
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