How to Minister When Toddlers & Elementary Kids Are in the Same Room

Effectively minister to children--even with toddlers in the mix.

Teaching a lesson to elementary-aged children at church can be difficult on any given day, but if you add some younger children into the class, the task becomes a bigger challenge. Planning a lesson for toddlers with short attention spans and older children who complain of boredom if they hear a repeat Bible story is a balancing act. Teachers who volunteer their time to minister to children can take steps to handle a large age range so that the lesson goes smoothly and all students learn from it.

Instructions

1. 

   Hands-on activities keep kids engaged and busy.

   Plan movement activities. Both elementary students and toddlers will enjoy learning by being actively involved. Songs with motions, games, crafts and coloring pages are all excellent ways of keeping children busy and learning at the same time.

2. 

   Toddlers won't sit still for long so change activities often.

   Change activities at least every 10 minutes. According to Early Intervention Support, a toddler has an attention span of eight minutes or less, so staying on one activity for much longer than 10 minutes will almost guarantee behavior-management issues. Have plenty of activities planned so that you can move on to another one when toddlers start getting bored.

3. 

   Keep children interested with puppets.

   Use drama or puppets to tell a story. For many children's ministry scenarios, there is usually a time when a teacher tells a story from the Bible. Toddlers and elementary-aged children alike will enjoy the story much more if done in a creative way that will hold their attention. Dress up and act out the story, or use some puppets to engage children in the lesson. Children's Church Ministry states that even using a stuffed animal to play a part in the story will keep children engaged.

4. 

   Assign older children to help toddlers during activities.

   Pair older students with toddlers. At times, teachers may want to plan crafts and activities that are beyond a toddler's capabilities. In these instances, use a buddy system to pair older elementary children with the young toddlers to give them a helping hand. This not only builds self-esteem in the older children, but encourages a closer relationship between children.

Tips & Warnings

• One of the easiest ways to manage this diverse age group is to get more adults or teenagers involved. Even with a smaller group of children, extra pairs of hands to take children to the bathroom, manage behavioral problems or prepare a snack can make the lesson go much smoother.

• With such a large age range it can be easy to simplify everything to make it toddler-friendly, but this often results in bored, unruly older children. Teachers need to plan activities for both ages, even if it means more planning time. For instance, a teacher can have a crossword puzzle for older children and a coloring page for toddlers, both of which reinforce the lesson.

References

• Early Intervention Support: "Behavior Tips: Attention Span"
• Children's Church Ministry: "Children's Ministry Preschool"