When Teaching a Large Age Range

I was reading a discussion over on the Kidology.org forums* about how to teach to a wide age range and there were some comments suggesting different age ranges to aim for. Some were suggesting “aiming for the middle” or “targeting the older kids” so as not to bore them, whereas others thought it better to teach to the younger ones so as not to lose them.

I’d like to suggest a different approach after having taught over 1,000 children’s church services to first through sixth graders for over twenty-five years. It’s a rather simple suggestion: AIM FOR EVERYONE!

The key in a large group with a large age range is to shift your focus constantly. The secret is to be highly visual and to be physically moving and animated to keep the younger ones tracking with you (don’t stand still and never sit, meaning you the teacher) and use humor constantly to keep a connection with your audience.

Think about it: Senior pastors preach to a wide audience range of age and intelligence and education and world view and learning styles and they can do it! They don’t break their audience into groups! How do they do it? It isn’t through the content or aiming for a specific part of the congregation! They don’t decide, “Well, I’ll just aim for the intellectuals,” or “I’ll just target the blue-collar worker,” or “I’ll aim for the unsaved or new believers,” or “I’m aim for the giants of faith.”

No!

They aim for EVERYONE. YOU can do the same! When you work on your delivery and becoming a vibrant communicator you can communicate effectively to young and old kids at the same time!

When you speak loudly and enthusiastically and creatively you can capture the attention of a group of kids no matter what the age. I’m telling you, you CAN capture the eyes, minds and hearts of kindergarten through sixth grade all in one room! No, it isn’t the ideal educational model, but when it is all you can do, it CAN be done very well. Sometimes it is the only model available to you during the service time. So don’t fret, work on your delivery and style, and be upbeat and confident and animated and funny and sincere and visual and pacing and creative and use big gestures and props and humor and stories and jokes and LOVE what you do, and the kids will be on the edge of their seats, and learning, at any age!

All that to say – I don’t target one age – I target EVERY AGE in the room constantly! At times, I’ll even say, “for you little guys, that means…” to let the older ones know I understand the simple explanation isn’t really for them. And I won’t hesitate tp define a word in the original Hebrew for the big kids!

The key is YOU and your delivery – be animated, creative, visual, funny when you can, serious when it matters, walk out among the kids for emphasis and keep it moving.

And if you are looking for a kids church curriculum that appeals to all ages, you must check out it Bible Curriculum from Kidology.

Focus on EVERYONE! You can do it!


NOTE: This post was originally posted in January 2010. I figured it was time to update and post again!

*LOL, the Kidology forums were from when Facebook didn’t exist! Now you can join us in the Kidology Facebook Group.

 

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