How to teach 3 – 4 year old's?

“Teacher, I can. Teacher, can I? I know how to... These are just common phrases this age group loooooooooves using. They are at a stage in their lives where they enjoy doing things on their own, are excited by initiating things, and loooove doing things on their own. The question is, how do we teach these active, enthusiastic, eager, and adventurous 3–4-year-olds? How do we engage them? Well, as I have said, at least I think I have. The best way is to engage them on their level, come down to their level, and only then can you get through to them.

Spiritual messages to teach 3–4-year old's:

• God loves you.

Learning objectives: They are loved by God, God loves all of us, and God’s love is great.

• God loves your family.

Learning objectives: God loves you and those who care for you and those you care for. Family members are the most important people to every child, and they need to know that they matter to God all the more.

• God made everything.

Learning objectives: God is the reason we have all that we have; God made our families, and it is through him that our needs are met because he made everything.

• Jesus is my friend.

Learning objectives: Jesus loves us so much, he cares so much that he wants to be our friend always, and he is a good friend.

• God is good.

Learning objectives: God always does the right thing, and he can never do wrong at all.

• God is truthful.

Learning objectives: He is not a God that lies; he keeps his promises; and he is always honest.

• God is sharing.

Learning objectives: God shares his love with us, and God shares the things he made with us.

• God is caring.

Learning objectives: God cares for us so much that he gives us all that we need because he cares for us.

When teaching 3 to 4 year olds, it is important to keep in mind that they have an attention span of 6–8 minutes; you need to ensure your lesson is WHOOOOOOLESOME. Wholesome means exciting, appealing to all their senses, and suitable for all learning types. Check out the blog on this topic: https://littlelambsofchrist.blogspot.com/2023/11/sunday-school-effective-ways-of-making.html.

In the classroom:

Be on time so that you can hug each child and mention their name as they walk in. It is important to have a co-teacher for this class since they are hands-on. While you are teaching, the co-teacher can handle the crying baby if the parent is not around.

1. Gather around. Sit on a clean mat or rug. have an opening prayer where you pray.

2. Get them excited for class. Sing a song or two (the wheels of the bus and/or father Abraham).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_04ZrNroTo     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On20xSFp0VY

Lesson time: God made.

God made/created is a vast topic because God made sooooo many things. I prefer starting at the beginning. Yes, “In the beginning, God made..." I like starting in Genesis because it gives the sequence of how things were made, of how God made all things, and lastly, of how he made them. So it is totaaally up to you, teacher, what you will pick. Repeat, repeat, repeat this lesson maybe for three consecutive Sundays, change the worksheets and crafts.

God made me:

Obviously, this is from Genesis 1:26-27. God made both boys and girls; at this age, they begin to learn that they are different from each other and that everyone has needs equal to theirs.

You need visual aids: https://www.printablee.com/post_god-made-me-special-coloring-pages-printables_319096/. These need to be coloured in.

·       Bring the lesson to life by having an application story:

https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/7807283750534398793/7198871373880551054?hl=en

·       Having a few songs to sing with them, at this age, they like songs with actions.

God made me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v5yfgNpuko

Jesus loves me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqghCEtlTFo

God made me:

To the tune of Jesus loves me.

·       Worksheets:

https://za.pinterest.com/pin/59109813836144063/

https://za.pinterest.com/pin/238339005257532994/

·       Crafts: Since they like doing things themselves and have a sense of pride in what they do, they’ll love doing handwork and crafts.

https://za.pinterest.com/pin/450289662735472641/

https://za.pinterest.com/pin/283797214012793184/

·       Games or activities to play with this age group:

Pin the nose on the face: Cut out a face blindfold, fold a child in the group, hand him the nose, and let the class instruct or direct him/her on where to place the nose on the face.

Do not drop the balloon. Have a balloon, and the object of the game is to make sure the balloon does not drop. Everyone must touch it and hit it as high as possible.

 

I know a lot of people are intimated by the energy this age group has. Remember, they are exploring, they are aware they have a lot to learn, and they want to learn it allllllll at once. Be patient with them; everything is a biiiiiiiig deal, and they are discovering and enjoying who they are as well as their abilities. I hope this has been insightful. If you do not have as much fun as they do, then teacher, you are wasting your time. You can do all you can and follow all the how-to-teach blogs and how-to-be a super teacher blogs, but if you do not have fun, then, ooh well.