Category Archives: Early Childhood

Ages of children in the nursery of a church can vary from infancy to age two or three. Depending on how your church structures age levels, you could than have a wide range of developmental traits to accommodate. The key, no matter the age, is that the nursery becomes more than a place for parents to drop off their children for us to babysit while they go to their own class or worship service. This is a time to lay a foundation in these young children’s lives that can affect their attitudes about God for years to come.

Acrostic to Help with Teaching Nursery Age Children

The following suggestions apply to all young children, no matter the age span in your church nursery.

N – Nurture their Sense of Wonder

We have a powerful, creative God who made the heavens and earth.

U – Understand their Age Level Abilities

Having a good understanding of developmental traits will help manage your expectations, eliminating a lot of frustration. It will also help you determine ways to reach them, guiding your methodology.

R – Reinforce Truths with Repetition

Theirs is an age when repetition is not only necessary but welcomed.

S – Set High Enough, Yet Realistic, Expectations

If we don’t expect these children to learn much, we probably won’t put much into teaching them. While there are things they can’t do because of their age developmental abilities, there are many ways we can engage with them.

E – Engage their Senses

They’re learning about the world around them through their various senses. It only makes sense we teach in accordance with the way they learn.

R – Redirect rather than Reprimand

They will not sit still. They will get distracted. Expect it and learn how to redirect their attention.

Y – Yield to God’s Power to Make a Difference

God can use you to impact their lives, laying a foundation to be built upon. You may not see it now but can trust that God is indeed using you in the nursery.

When it comes to teaching infants and toddlers, some may wonder if it’s worth the effort. Those serving in the church nursery may ask, “What difference can I make?” We might recall that Jesus told His disciples, “Let the little children come to me” (Matt. 19:14). Yet, some may ask, “Didn’t Jesus know that toddlers are the ‘terrible two’s’ and ‘horrible three’s’?”

The above questions are titles of two articles in the Early Childhood Age Level Characteristics Resource which also includes developmental traits and their implications for teachers.

Are Infants and Toddler Too Young to Learn?

Very short attention spans? Limited vocabulary? — Yes.

Ability to learn? — Absolutely.

These precious little ones actively learn whether intentionally being taught or not. Further, what they’re learning lays the foundation for future attitudes toward God and His Word.

The Key is How We Try to Teach Young Children

The question we should be asking isn’t if we should teach infants and toddlers but rather how. Certainly we shouldn’t overly structure our time with them, in keeping with their developmental abilities, but we can and should purposefully use whatever time we have to point them to our wonderful Lord. We can …

Pray aloud over them. Sing about the Lord. Tell them short snippets of Bible stories. Repeat short phrases from Scripture verses. Look at pictures and other visuals that provide opportunity to talk about God and His role in their lives. While they play, talk about how God made them and loves them. Etc.

Click Below to Check Out More Helpful Training Resources:

• Guided Conversation Worksheet
• Let the Little Children Come Workbook

Some questions teachers of early childhood classes have relate directly to developmental abilities like the one looked at in the previous post:

• Will children in early childhood classes really retain what they learn?

Here we want to look at a question about the role of the Bible in early childhood teaching.

Frequently Asked Questions about Teaching the Bible in Early Childhood Classes

How important is teaching the Bible to this age when it’s content is so far beyond them?

If we’re going to lay a solid foundation at this age, it needs to be the right kind of foundation, one based on the Truth of God’s Word. Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy. He said, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful …” (2 Tim. 3:14-17) The question isn’t “if” we teach the Bible to this age group but “how” which ties into their developmental abilities. For more about this, take some time to read:

• Teach an Adult Book to Children? Why?
• Teach an Adult Book to Children? How?

Other Questions:

Check out the Bible Teacher’s Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions for responses to a few other questions about early childhood classes.

• Is it okay to change parts of the Bible story to better suit this age?
• How do we deal with the short attention spans of young children?
• Will children in early childhood classes really retain what they learn?

The handbook also looks at 48 other issues related to Bible teaching, answering a total of 153 questions.

Some questions we might have about teaching early childhood classes relate to developmental issues or abilities. Thinking through these issues prepares us for related challenges so we don’t get frustrated by them.

Frequently Asked Questions about Early Childhood Teaching Related to Developmental Abilities

Will children in early childhood really retain what they learn?

We might be surprised at how much they’re learning even when we don’t think they’re absorbing anything. Many parents have reported tidbits of truth children expressed in relevant moments, or songs they started singing when they thought no one was listening. Even if children aren’t catching everything we’re trying to teach them, we’re laying a foundation which will be built upon for years to come. But there are things we can do to help with retention. We must be careful not to try to teach too much in one session. It’s better to hit on one central theme that we keep coming back to over and over throughout the session in different ways. Repetition will reinforce the truth we want them to remember.

Other Questions:

How important is teaching the Bible to this age when it’s content is so far beyond them?

Is it okay to change parts of the Bible story to better suit this age?

How do we deal with the short attention spans of young children?

You’ll find responses to the above questions in the Bible Teacher’s Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions which also looks at 48 other issues related to Bible teaching, answering a total of 153 questions.

Resource to Help with Their Developmental Characteristics: Age Level Characteristics: Early Childhood Module Download