How to Keep a Preschoolers Attention During Sunday School
When you deal with preschoolers, one of the hardest things to do is to keep their attention. Preschoolers have a very short attention span and continually changed their focus from one activity to the next. If you are in charge of a classroom full of preschoolers, then the following tips may help you keep their attention during Sunday School.
Plan Ahead
When teaching preschoolers during Sunday school, you should certainly plan ahead. Plan a couple of days before your lesson and make sure that you have gathered everything you need. This will help you stay organized and keep their attention during the lessons. Planning ahead means that you need to make sure that you know each activity you will do with the children and that you have all the necessary equipment and supplies on hand and at the ready. There will be no need to run to the supply room at the last minute to get an extra pair of scissors or a story book when you plan ahead.
Stay on Task
It is not always easy to stay on task when you teach preschoolers, but when you need to keep their attention during Sunday school, this is one way to do it. If you are not focused on the lesson and you allow interruptions throughout the lesson, you will lose the attention of your children. This includes minimizing interruptions from other teachers, classroom visitors and parents that want to stay in the room to chat. Ask that they come back after the children are picked up.
Plan Short Activities
If you have your class for about an hour, then you need several short activities. Remember that these kids will not have the attention or the ability to engage in long, laborious craft activities or complicated games. Make sure that whatever you plan is easy to complete with minimal help from you. Not only does this save you time and frustration, but it does give the kids a sense of accomplishment when they can complete a task on their own. Your activities do not have to be complicated or involved to be fun for your kids.
Plan Extra Activities
It is always a good idea to plan extra activities when you teach preschoolers. Have a folder or a box of several activities that you can use as quick fillers. This could be as simple as a quick game of duck-duck-goose, or a game of ?I Spy?. When you have activities on hand to fill extra time, then your kids will stay engaged.
Stay Realistic
Last of all, you can help yourself and your class by staying realistic about your lessons. These are preschoolers and you need to keep your expectations of what they can and cannot do at their level. Allow some down time each week and let them have fun being in your class and visiting with their friends.
Denise Oliveri is a Sunday School teacher of 13+ years. She now runs Preschool Sunday School Central, a website dedicated to bringing preschool Sunday School teachers valuable resources for planning Bible lessons. Come visit our site at http://www.psscentral.com to find tons of free resources, as well as ones you can purchase.
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