For some teachers a tension exists between how much play to allow in the classroom and how much Bible learning.
Tugging on one side:
- Children love to play.
- Children (all ages actually) learn better when active. God made us to be involved in the process.
Tugging on the other side:
- We are teaching eternal truths of grave importance.
- We only a short time to teach them.
To resolve that tension, train teachers of children’s classes to aim toward the following:
- purposeful play
not just play for the sake of playing because children like to play but rather because the play activity will lead to learning a specific truth or skill
- total session teaching
not just using play as a time filler because you haven’t prepared enough material to engage students but rather making everything you do lead toward the lesson’s goal
The Play: It’s How Kids Learn Worksheet, available through the MinTools.com store, will help teachers learn to use play effectively as a Bible teaching method.
Teacher Training Resources: Instructional Play