elementary

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elementary essentials

WELCOME TO

ELEMENTARY! Thank you for joining the team! As a member of the Elementary team we are asking you to allow God to work through you by building relationships with a group of children to help facilitate spiritual growth at whatever age or stage that child may be in. Every person on the KidsWorld team plays an important role in accomplishing our Mission: Making passionate disciples of Jesus Christ who are belonging, growing, serving and reaching.

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Room Leader

Responsible for the overall activity of the room and team of volunteers. Assign small group leaders and student helpers to their appropriate team color group. Review curriculum details/updates with all your assigned leaders. Greet children and parents. Communicate any volunteer or curriculum needs. Keep class on daily schedule. Assure small group materials are ready for small groups throughout morning. Make determination if parent needs to be called for any reason. Clean up and set up for following service if needed.

Small Group Leader

Responsible for the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of your small group throughout the day. Prepare and implement provided small group material. Greet parents and interact with children throughout service. Encourage and direct your small group of children and student helpers. Pray for the children in your small group. Clean up and set up for following service if needed. Fill out “new kids” post cards for any new children in your small group that day.

Student Helper

Help the small group leader as needed. Participate in all activities, knowing that your first goal is to assist your assigned small group leader. Greet parents and interact with children throughout service. Clean up and set up for following service if needed.

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We want you to understand the why behind the how. We will get to the how - but let’s start with the why. There are 7 “guideposts” that shape our curriculum and understanding those will help put some meaning behind what you prepare for each week you serve in KidsWorld with our Elementary age kids.

#1 - Empowering Family as Primary -

We believe that families are the first place where faith should be formed and nurtured. We have approximately 40 hours in a year with the average child who attends Christ Community their families have over 3000 hours to influence their kids - so it is our job to empower and equip families to lead their children in faith formation.

#2 - Spiritual Formation for a Lifetime Faith -

We want kids to be more than just informed about the Bible and faith - we want them to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and spiritually formed by God’s Word. Rather than teaching and drilling on a bunch of facts, we want to give kids space and time to explore God’s Word and what the Holy Spirit might be speaking to them in order to promote a lifetime of faith.

#3 - Scripture is Our Authority -

The Bible is God’s truth for daily living that guides us to know God and interpret our lives through the lens of His character and perfect will (2 Tim. 3:16–17). We will always use Scripture as the basis of each lesson we teach.

#4 - The Holy Spirit Teaches - We intentionally create environments where the Holy Spirit is free to move, teach, and lead through His Word and other believers (John 14:26). You will see this especially in our Worship Response time, but it should be evident in your small group time as you are aware of how the Holy Spirit is moving.

#5 - The Big GOD Story -

The Bible, or “The Big God Story” as we like to call it, is God’s ENTIRE story. It incorporates all of history, stretching from Genesis to Revelation and beyond, sharing the good news of redemption through Jesus (Rom. 8:1-2). When we teach the Bible as ONE story, we help kids understand how God has been working on His plan of Redemption since the fall of man, and He never changes.

#6 - God is Central -

Because it is one story, the emphasis is on God’s love and redemption through Jesus. God is central to His Word, our lives, and the gospel (Col. 1:20). When we teach a story, we will emphasize what God has done in history and the life of the highlighted person, telling the story with God as the hero!

#7 - Inspire, Equip, and Support - We want YOU as a volunteer to feel inspired to make passionate disciples, equipped with the knowledge and materials you need to do so, and supported as we all pursue this mission together. 6

Each lesson follows the same basic path as we work to make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ. Because we use the same type of curriculum for all age groups, we have an opportunity to create some consistency and familiarity with the kids if we follow through each lesson component. Each week the kids will experience:

Anticipate:

This is a time when connections happen. We always have

one activity that is designed to pique the curiosity of the kids about the lesson. We also have other activity options around the room that are designed to help you interact with the kids as they check in and get comfortable with the room. This is a great time to begin to introduce concepts for the day’s lesson. Your role is to greet kids and engage them in an activity to encourage belonging.

Traditions: It’s important for faith communities to have traditions and ways we celebrate. Kids will receive items (beads/marbles) for things such as being there that week, if they know their Remember Verse, if they brought their Bible, or if they brought a friend. They will then drop their item into the container and a leader will bring the container to large group to add all of their items into their service time’s proper place. The kids are working toward a group prize! Your role is to encourage kids to work toward the group goal.

Large Group Worship:

Each week our kids have an opportunity to

worship God together. These are high-energy times - we encourage you to participate! Your role is to model worship for the kids and encourage them to participate!

Big God Story:

During this time, kids will hear a story out of the Bible.

Because we always emphasize the Bible as ONE big story with God as the hero and central focus, we call it The BIG GOD STORY! A “Ponder Point” about God will be introduced to the kids to be reinforced through Response and Small Group time. Your role is to continue to lead your small group by modeling good listening, and engaging with kids who are not listening or participating and motivate them to do so. 8

Worship Response:

When kids hear God’s Word presented, we believe

they should be given time and space to respond to that in whatever way the Holy Spirit is speaking to them. During Worship Response time, kids are allowed to move freely to our Worship Response Stations and respond to the Big God Story in a personal way. Your role is to be available to pray with kids, gently guide them to a Response Station, and help with Response Stations that may involve writing.

Small Group Response:

While divided into groups, you will follow the

lesson plan to ask questions about the lesson allowing the kids to respond to the lesson in an interpersonal way. During this time, be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit may be doing and allow kids to ask more questions or really think about what they are learning about God. You don’t need to follow the lesson like a script, rather use it as a guide. Your role is to be prepared for this group time and be sensitive to the needs of your small group of kids in discussion.

Create/Engage:

We will provide the supplies for an activity to engage

the kids’ learning styles and relate them to the activity. Kids learn by doing, so this may be a game or a craft type activity designed to help kids grasp the ponder point. Your role is to be prepared for this activity and enthusiastically engage children in the game or project!

Bless:

The blessing is an opportunity to convey a future hope for the

kids. If you are able to, invite parents into the experience as you bless the kids. Your role is to bless the kids with a heart of anticipation and expectation for what God will do with the kids this week.

Follow Up: After all of the kids have been picked up, take a few minutes to write postcards to any kids in your group who were at KidsWorld for the first time, as well as writing cards to kids who may just need a card this week.

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Prepare! No leader should be reading the small group lessons/activities for the first time during your time in class. The more you are prepared, the easier it will be to lead your group through the provided activities. The best secret with kids is to maintain eye contact. If you are looking at your lesson materials to the point where you are reading it to your group, your kids get distracted.

Let the Holy Spirit Lead While we want you to prepare, we want the Holy Spirit to lead you as you lead your group, so if the kids have additional questions or you feel like you need to pray with and for your kids, take those opportunities. This doesn’t mean you ignore the lesson plan but that you are sensitive to what God may be doing in the kids in your group.

Keep Them Active and Engaged! Pay attention to the dynamics of your group. Continually bring all the kids together; don’t allow one child to separate him or herself from the group. Make them want to be with the group.

Know Their Names and Use Them Everyone loves to be known. The love and respect this shows the kids will get love and respect in return.

Establish Shared Control Early Set expectations first thing. Feel free to give kids choices between two things you are comfortable with – you can sit in front of me or next to me, you can hold this or that, etc. Giving choices allows the kids to have a piece of the action with constraints. This is a great way to avoid power struggles in a group. With older children, ask them to help you lead the group by reading the questions and encouraging their friends to participate.

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Be Consistent! Kids need to know they are safe. Consistency helps. Don’t falter when following through with consequences, and don’t make a consequence that you are unable or unwilling to follow through.

Establish Clear Expectations Review weekly. Suggested expectations: • Listen to the person talking. • Don’t hurt others or yourself with words or actions. • Don’t hurt the church property. • Listen the first time. • Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself.

Encourage Never degrade or embarrass a child with words. Encourage those who are behaving appropriately with positive affirmation (ex: “Sarah, I like the way you sang in large group”).

Get on the Child’s Level Look the child in his/her eyes and have him/her look back at you. This is not to intimidate but to help establish clear communication.

Have a Sense of Humor Laugh with a child, but never at him/her.

Have Fun & Participate! The more kids see you having fun, the more they will follow and have fun too. Don’t “hang on the wall” during large group and let the kids have all of the fun. Get down on their level and get involved!

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The call of Jesus to follow him as Lord and Savior is heard and responded to by children as well as adults. What should you do if a child expresses a desire to make a commitment to follow Jesus?

Listen Listen to what God is doing in their life. Ask them to tell you what they are feeling and what they feel like God may be saying to them, and why they want to put their faith in Jesus.

Walk them through God’s Good News At Christ Community, we use the God’s Good News booklets as a tool to clearly communicate the Good News of God’s redemptive plan. This booklet has illustrations, verses to read, and questions to ask as you talk through God’s desire to have a personal relationship with each of us. Ask the child to explain the bridge diagram back to you to see if they really understand what you have communicated. • If the child is in your small group, this can happen in the context of your group! If the Holy Spirit is leading, feel free to talk through the booklet as a group and allow the other kids in your group to speak into each others’ lives and share their stories of how they have put their faith in God.

Pray At the end of the God’s Good News booklet, there is a written prayer you may want to ask the child to read or repeat after you, but also ask the child what they would like to say to God. After they have prayed to put their faith in Christ, take time yourself to pray for them to grow in their faith.

Celebrate! Make much of this important decision! Give them a high five, tell them how proud you are of them for making the most important decision of their lives! Please be sure to tell their parents about this decision as well, and provide any follow up materials available, as well as giving them a copy of the God’s Good News booklet to remember this important day!

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While we would love to tell you the kids will be perfect all the time, we realize there may be times you need to use discipline. Here are some guidelines as you handle disruptions:

Ig n o r e- Sometimes it’s best to simply ignore the behavior. Some may be seeking your attention. Some may just have slipped up. Use your judgment on when to engage with the child or not. Sometimes extending grace is the best option to value relationships.

Ey e c o n t a c t -

If a child continues to be disruptive, try to catch

his/her eye. Oftentimes a simple glance is all it takes to let them know they need to pay attention.

G et C lo s e-

Some children need to be close to someone in order

to re-engage. Simply sit closer to the child and see if that helps. Some kids need a gentle reminder to pay attention, such as a hand on their shoulder.

Use enforceable statements- Enforceable statements state what you will do and allow rather than trying to tell them what to do. (Ex.: “I’ll listen as soon as your voice is as calm as mine” or “Feel free to join us when you feel ready to listen”).

R ed i r ec t -

If a child just can’t pay attention, give him/her an

object (not a toy) to hold while you are talking. As long as they are sitting quietly and not disturbing anyone, they can hold the object. Give them a special job to help them keep busy and feel a part of the group.

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G i v e C h o ic es -

Give them choices within limits that everyone can

live with. Be prepared to follow through with your options.

R es p o n d wi t h Em p at h y-

The behavior belongs to the child, no

need for the leader to become frustrated. Have an empathetic response that you can use to separate yourself from the behavior and not get angry (ex.: “Uh oh, what a bummer!”). This communicates that you care about the child, regardless of their behavior, and that you aren’t going to back down because their discipleship matters to you.

R em o v e-

Don’t reprimand in front of other kids. Speak gently

yet firmly. State the behavior you would like stopped. Then talk about the behavior you would like to see. (Example: “Tim, I’m so glad we can be together in KidsWorld; if you continue poking people, you will need to sit by me.”) Give kids two options (ex: “Luke, you can sit by me or by Emily.”) Say a short prayer with the child, asking God

to help him/her exercise self control.

S ep a r at e-

You may have a child who has consistently made

poor choices. You have the option to remove that child. Speak to your room captain and have that person(s) take the child as their “helper” for a time. In some cases, a KidsWorld staff member or Zone Leader may be called on the radio to intervene.

S et G o a ls -

Have the child tell you what behavior they need to

change and own their behavior by coming up with some ways they could change that behavior to have a better report at the end of the service. Agree on what the rest of the service would

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need to look like (ex: “In large group, you were running around, which was not acceptable; so in small group, what would you need to do to turn that around? Could you do those things so I can give your parents a good report?”)

A ffir m -

If you see an improvement as weeks go by, even the

smallest one, be sure to affirm the child by stating what you saw and the behavior that worked.

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1st & 2nd Grades (Ages 6-7) Physically Enjoys active play such as jumping and running, develops small muscle coordination; begins to write

Emotionally Expresses feelings with physical activity; may hit others, craves attention, are self-centered; each child wants to be first

Spiritually Senses God’s love and God’s world by personal experience, are baffled by the fact that they can’t see God, don’t comprehend the Bible’s chronology

Socially Usually tolerates kids from different racial and economical backgrounds, wants to please leaders, wants to win and always be first

Intellectually Interested in concrete learning experiences such as dramatizations and rhythms, can sit still for about 6 to 7 minutes, Have a limited concept of time and space; are interested in the present, not in the past or future.

3rd & 4th Grades (ages 8-9) Physically Develops speed and accuracy in playing games, girls develop faster than boys, especially in small-muscle skills, play with lots of repetition to develop skills

Emotionally Easily becomes frustrated because of trying to do activities that are beyond them developmentally, vents anger by teasing or criticizing others, has difficulty accepting constructive criticism

Spiritually Wants God’s help and guidance, wants to become part of God’s family but may not completely understand the concept of a personal Savior, questions how God answers prayer

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Socially Wants to fit in and belong to a peer group, wants to play with members of the same sex, becomes less dependent on adults

Intellectually Can sit still for about 8 or 9 minutes, can accurately group and classify information, asks in-depth questions instead of simple questions

5th Grade (ages 10-11) Physically Grows in bone structure, making bones susceptible to injury; differs in growth rates by gender; girls forge ahead of boys in height and weight; prefers same-sex activities since girls are developing faster than boys, and boys prefer to play rougher than girls

Emotionally Are emotionally more balanced; tends to be more easygoing, are becoming more self-conscious, bases feelings on how others respond to them

Spiritually Begins to understand biblical symbolism, tells friends about God when excited about God, wants to attend church; wants to do service projects

Socially Becomes interested in competition but not in competition that points out the difference between them and their peers, wants peers to play fair, becomes upset when someone breaks the rules, not a good age to play boys vs. girls, develops individual leadership qualities

Intellectually Can usually sit still for 10 to 11 minutes, although some can become absorbed in a project that interests them; can think to themselves, causing communication to drop off; develops a wider range of interests

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