People say I'm crazy, but I love this age! I am very excited to do this, but I haven't worked with this age in a long time and I need ideas. I don't think the songs and dances I teach to 3-5 year olds will cut it with this age. If anyone has ideas or resources that have worked, I would love to hear about them. I will be using a curriculm that is issues based and produced by Group Publishing. It is really great, but I would love to have any other ideas you might have. Thanks for the help!

By Marg on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 02:06 pm:

I just saw this post...

Tough age

DH taught this age for years and became very close to many kids, they often came to him to talk about problems they were having....

Maybe an open forum at certain points of the Sunday School so you can talk about those tough issues they are going through. I take it you are talking about 6-8 grades. That's our middle schools around here.

Another good thing is role playing. This also brings up issues that they are afraid to talk about with parents, siblings, teachers and any other adults. Sometimes, you can mix boy/girl groups, sometimes, you will have to separate them if they want to talk about certain subjects. This also builds trust that they can talk to their parents and adults.

Dh was often questioned by kids this age on handholding, kissing, smoking, drugs, alcohol, peer pressure, parents (including divorce, separation,etc).

Another great thing, is making cards for people who are sick in church, etc.

If you have a kitchen in the church and are allowed to use it, making cookies or treats for sick people or children or the elderly.

I could go on and on.

I hope everything goes well and keep us posted.

By Amyj on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 10:52 pm:

Thanks for the ideas Marg! I like the role playing idea. One thing I am planning to do with them is a mosaic out of clay. Each student will choose a book of the Bible to study and create a mosaic piece or pieces for that book. THe finished mosaic will hang outside our church. I did this with students at an alternative high school when I worked for Girl Scouts and they loved it. I'll keep you posted. We have a kick-off planned with the youth and one planned for their parents of Aug. 22nd. I just finished directing and teaching a week long workshop at our church on liturgical dance. One of the groups that I had were the 6-9th graders and they loved dancing together. We are going to continue meeting during the year. This will help me get to know some of the youth as well.

By Marg on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 07:52 am:

Oh Amy, that is a wonderful idea!

My dh is artistically challenged, lol! So not much was done in that area. take a picture and post if you can when you are completed!

By Janet on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 10:59 am:

I taught 5-8 gr. Sunday school last year, and it was a really good experience! At that age, they are old enough to be able to carry on decent conversations with you, they can read and write, and they are handling some challenging issues. One of the most surprising things, though, was that several kids didn't seem to have any knowledge of basic Bible stories, so assume nothing. Also, be prepared for the hard questions, as these kids are starting to question their faith and to not be satisfied with the simple answers. Don't be afraid to let them know you don't have all the answers, and take time to ask them what they think--you'll be amazed at what's going on in those brains!
Kids this age are also (unfortunately) easily bored, I discovered, and you need to give them a blend of activities and teaching time. There are lots of good teachers' books at Christian book stores, geared specifically for middlers--you might look at them for supplemental ideas to your Sunday school curriculum. Have fun and don't be scared!!