by Cass Brannan

One of the greatest responsibilities that the church seems to overlook is that of preschoolers. They are in the most foundational years of their life, and as leaders—and as the Church—we cannot fail to capture their hearts! If we don’t capture their hearts, the world will.

If we continue to just offer Bible stories and a coloring sheet in church we will never truly capture their hearts with the gospel. There is a great privilege to begin laying the foundation of their biblical worldview, and here are four ways that we can do that.

We have to go after the way they THINK
Preschoolers are capable of thinking on their own, if we will let them! Their sense of WONDER is taking over and they are wanting desperately to know why and how about everything. We need to begin to allow them to see how Scripture can shape the way that they make decisions, how and why they are disciplined, and for teaching. We need to ask them questions and allow them to think about the decision that they are making. It is a process of having them THINK and going after their little hearts!

We have to instill in them a foundation of FAITH
There is no greater time to start laying the foundation of their faith in Jesus, than when they are preschoolers. Preschoolers are beginning their foundation for everything else in their hearts and minds—like the alphabet, the sounds the letters make, etc., so that one day they can read. We need to begin to set the foundation of faith in their hearts, so that one day, they can put those pieces together, with the goal of having a relationship with Jesus! It is so important that we teach them that they can trust God’s Word. They need to have Scripture written on their little hearts. Preschoolers are not too little to memorize God’s Word—we just need to give them the chance. If we want to capture the hearts of preschoolers, then we have to teach the Bible to them in fun and amazing ways!

We need to teach, model, and live out TRUTH
If we are going to capture the hearts of preschoolers, then they need to see that what we are teaching is TRUE. If you are not living what you are teaching, then we will fail to capture their hearts. Don’t for one moment think that just because they are preschoolers, that you can fool them—they are way smarter than you think. They will see right through you! So simply, if you want your preschoolers to see the TRUTH, TEACH IT. MODEL IT. LIVE IT.

We need to make the most of the TIME that we are given!
The reality is that preschoolers need your time. They need it at home and at the church. The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 6 that we should talk about God’s Word all day long with our children. It takes work and it takes effort to add God into your daily routine of life, but it is not hard. By weaving God into your rhythm you create a great use of the time that you do have with your preschoolers.

We cannot afford to simply go after the behavior of our preschoolers we have to capture their hearts!

Cass is a husband, daddy, and a preschool minister at Calvary Tuscaloosa. Cass is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and Southeastern Seminary and is passionate about preschoolers and families, and partnering them with the church. Cass lives in Northport, Alabama, and loves spending time with his wife and three boys.

It seems like everyone is talking about the heat in the southeast. Twitpics of iPhone weather apps reporting 105-degree heat in Atlanta abound. Well, how do we at Orange stay cool? With an Orange Creamsicle Smoothie!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup crushed ice
• 1/2 cup orange juice pulp (from ~3 oranges) or one whole peeled orange, pulled apart *
• 1 cup coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
• 1 scoop organic vanilla protein powder
• 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. honey (optional for a sweeter taste)

*good source of fiber

Directions

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 16 oz.

• Calories: 303
• Total Fat: 6 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 219 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 25 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Sugars: 13 g
• Protein: 25 g

For this and other fiberlicious recipes, visit www.fortheloveoffiber.com.

This recipe was found: http://www.fitsugar.com/Healthy-Orange-Julius-Recipe-23752212

by Autumn Ward

We all agree that preschoolers are learning new bits of information every day. Most of them will walk into your classroom with no problem, but that would not have been possible just two or three years ago. No, that’s when they were learning to hold their heads up, lift their feet to hold them, roll over, push up, rock, crawl, pull up and finally, taking that first step. Walking is more than taking one big step. It’s the culmination of learning a lot of much smaller steps.

The same is true with preschool Small Groups. Sitting together and talking about the Bible story, applying it to our lives, praying together, celebrating one another—that’s the big step we want to take. But first we must experience several much smaller steps.

Step 1: Train your threes to go to the same area with the same people for Small
Group time.

Your new three-year-olds were in a twos class just last Sunday. Participating in a mall Group is something they have to learn how to do. Begin by simply helping them identify where to go and teaching them the names of their new Small Group Leader and friends.

• Use colors, animals, shapes, anything the children can recognize, to make it easy for your children to spot your Small Group area in the classroom. (The threes classroom where I serve at my church has four Small Groups. My group is the “orange” group so my basket, journal and pen are all orange.)
• Place a color dot on each child’s nametag with a marker so you can easily identify which leader they go with. (The names of the children in my group have their names printed in orange since we are the orange group. This really helps me know which children are mine at the beginning of the year and as new children are added to my group throughout the year. The children learn to recognize the color nametags as well.)
• Be consistent with your place in the room, time you meet, leader, friends and symbol. (My group always meets in the left corner by the door right after the Bible story. Same leader. Same children. Same color. Every Sunday.)
• Give each child a small paper cup filled with a snack to eat as they sit down in their Small Group. (We give a squirt of hand sanitizer before Small Group and hand out small paper cups of Goldfish. This really help the children go to their spots at the beginning of the year.)
• Call out each child’s name and pray together. (I am horrible with names. Saying my children’s names each Sunday helps them and me! I want us to know each other by name!)
• Pray together. Go around the circle and thank God for each child by name. Do this every Sunday. Once you feel your group has their routine down, it’s time to take another step.

Step 2: Add saying the memory verse together.

Congratulations! Your Small Sroup is meeting in the same spot, at the same time, with the same leader and same friends. Are you ready to get on your knees and start rocking a bit?

• Before you pray together, practice saying your memory verse with motions, as a group.
• End with prayer. Ask your children if anyone wants to pray before you lead the group in a prayer. Thank God for each child by name.
• Once you feel comfortable with saying the memory verse and praying, it’s time to crawl on to some application conversation.

Step 3: Use the First Look curriculum to begin talking about the Bible story and how it applies to your preschoolers’ lives.

• We’re not quite to the journals yet, but we’ve come a long way! Keep your words short and sweet as you talk about the Bible story. Listen as much, if not more, than you talk.
• Try and quickly connect the Bottom Line to their young hearts. Just one or two examples are enough. The Bottom Line will get lost in a lot of words.
• Being able to apply the Bottom Line is more important than knowing story facts. (I would rather have a child understand that it’s important to tell Jesus “Thank You” in his everyday life than to be able to retell the story of Jesus and the ten lepers.)

Step 4: Are you ready to pull up and walk? Take out your journals. It’s time to start recording those precious preschool prayers.

• You are now to the point where you can follow the First Look curriculum just as it is written. You have taught your children how to:
  • Go to their Small Group spot.
  • Know you and their new friends by name.
  • Pray.
  • Practice their memory verse together.
  • Talk about the Bible story and how it applies to them.
  • Now you’re going to add the journal.
• When it’s time to pray together, write down each child’s name in print so they can recognize the letters and their own name.
• First Look gives a suggested question to ask the children. Write down their responses beside their names. (One question might be, who can we tell the good news that Jesus is God’s Son? They would each say one person’s name.)
• When you close with prayer, say each child’s name and what they recorded in your journal in your prayer. Offer the opportunity for each child to pray. (The children have the sweetest prayers!)

I have three children. They all learned to walk at different ages. One of my daughters walked at nine months. But my son, I was still lugging that boy around when he was 13 months old! (Yes, he did finally walk. He now plays football for his high school!) The same is true with your preschool Small Groups. Some will learn to walk faster than others, but it will happen. Hang in there and know that you are doing a good work and your children, their families and your church will be better for it.

We had a great response to our blog and infographic about Sticky Teaching, so I read a book where some of those ideas originated from called, Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina. I was curious about which things would also apply to our church and ministry worlds.

It turned out there was quite a lot—and I couldn’t put it down! I’ve come up with some questions to ask yourself as you look at or even create curriculum to make sure it really matches up with what brain research says helps us learn best.

Basic Research: There are two powerful features of the Brain.

1. It can function as a database.
2. It can improvise and apply what it knows to real life.

* Any learning environment that deals with only one of these ignores half of our ability and potential. And it’s ultimately doomed to fail.

Key Questions to ask:

1. Does this curriculum emphasize a lot of facts, with more knowledge as the goal, or does it lean toward transferring of information or application?
2. What ratio are you looking for—information to application? What would happen if you just got one without the other?
3. Think about something you know a lot about it—how did you learn it? In more of a classroom setting or while doing it in the real world?

Sticky Teaching Rule #1 – Repetition is very important, because most learning doesn’t happen instantly but over time, even years!

• Repeat the same thing intentionally, but space it out over a period of time.
• Strategically cycle through key information, coming back to it over the years.

Key Questions to ask:

• What things are repeated or emphasized each week in this curriculum? Is there a page or place where I can see this at a glance?
• Is the learning focused on one main thing or thread? Can it be summed up in less than a minute?
• When people leave, if you asked them what they just learned, would they be able to tell you? What about a few hours later or even a few days?
• Knowing that people don’t come every week and that we hear things differently the second time or at different stages of life, does this curriculum ever repeat itself and some of its core content?

Sticky Teaching Rule #2 – Our brain is designed to learn in a constantly changing and interactive environment.

• Research shows that we need the opposite of what most schools, churches and workplaces provide in order to really learn and grow.
• More than 50 percent of our brain’s thinking resources focus on visual cues, and using more than one of their senses always leads to more retention.
• The things in our environment that catch and hold our attention have a better chance of being remembered.

Key Questions to ask:

• Does the curriculum help you think through how to create the best learning environment—using more than one of your senses?
• Are the presentations multimedia—not just relying on someone to talk, but also using visuals and even tangible objects to get their point across?
• Are there suggestions on how to regularly change things up to grab their attention—from creating sets or decorations, to using relevant music or videos and practical ideas for volunteers to make them more successful?

Sticky Teaching Rule #3 – If you want others to learn something, how it’s shared matters a lot.

• Plan in 10-minute modules, focusing on one core concept that you can unpack in less than one minute, then spend the next nine unpacking the main idea further.
• Our ability to learn something is related to how safe we feel, which is often directly related to our relationship with our teacher and emotions.
• The best teachers get to know each child and how they learn best, so that eventually they know what motivates them and if they really understand.

Key Questions to ask:

• Does this curriculum not only focus on one big idea, but does it unpack it and make it easy for me to use all the pieces during different times of the week?
• Are building relationships and honestly sharing key considerations of this curriculum? If we use this, how will it help our people connect and open up?
• Is there a set aside time and discussion or open ended questions each week in this curriculum for people to get to know each other better?
• Is there variety in the kinds of activities to keep kids engaged even though they are motivated to learn in different ways?

I can’t wait to hear what you think. Is this research helpful? What other questions do you ask as you look at or create curriculum?

If you’re interested, I looked at this research and asked myself these questions about our elementary curriculum, 252 Basics. You can see the related blog about this, here.

Thousands of churches around the world have discovered the benefits of using Orange curriculum in their weekly services, and in their personal leadership development. Based on a comprehensive cradle through college plan with the same end goal, Orange resources effectively partner the local church with individual families to influence the faith of the next generation. Now, all churches can experience it for themselves for FREE—no strings attached! Available through June 30, Orange wants to extend this offer to any church that desires to expand and refine their approach to the traditional church model.

Orange builds its foundation on the question, “What if the church synchronized its efforts with the efforts of parents and decided to have the same master plan to fuel faith in the next generation?” By combining the critical influences of the light of the church (yellow) and the love of the family (red), the Orange Strategy aligns efforts and shows a generation who God is more effectively than either could do alone. This revolutionary plan has literally changed the way numerous local churches worldwide view and conduct their weekly services, shifted how they communicate with parents and guided the way they interact with the community, all in service to the faith of its children and students.

New users to Orange will be able to choose from: Two months of the Orange leadership curriculum, YouLead, two months of First Look preschool curriculum, three months of 252 Basics children’s curriculum, the XP3 Student “Godview” series or an XP3 College “Conversation Guide.” Past or current users of Orange curriculum can choose from one or more of the resources they’ve not used before. In addition, after you choose your curriculum, we’ll also email you a link to a video series that walks you and your team through key parts of the Orange Strategy.

This promotional offer ends June 30, 2011. For more information or to take advantage of this offer, please visit www.WhatIsOrange.org, call 888.513.1788 or email freecurriculum@rethinkgroup.org.

The teams behind 252 Basics and First Look create incredible video resources for you to use each month. And get this…they’re FREE. It’s true. These videos are a great way for you to connect with your volunteers as well as the parents of the kids in your ministry. It’s a short overview of what you’ll be covering for the month so that everyone is on the same page.

There are two options for using these resources:

• Share on your website or via email
  If you are savvy enough to know how to work with html emails, just include the embed code from the videos below in your message or on your web site.
• Show the video in your weekly meeting with volunteers
  This one has a little footnote it. The free version of the video isn’t created in a resolution that would be good for projecting or showing in a large format. But the high resolution version of each video is available for a mere $5 on our store. Click here for the First Look Vision Video and here for the 252 Basics Virtue Video.

To see what’s coming up for August, check these out:

VISION VIDEO: FIRST LOOK (August 2010) from Orange on Vimeo.

VIRTUE VIDEO: Peace (August 2010) from Orange on Vimeo.

Nick Blevins is another great blogger with a lot of insight– check out his guest post on a milestone in his ministry:

One of the toughest transitions for a child is going from preschool to elementary school. Think about all the possible changes they have to deal with such as a full day of school, progress reports, reading, and most importantly no nap time. That transition can be tough in a church environment as well.

Two of the most intimidating parts of transitioning children from preschool to elementary in our church are entering the environment and the large group time. Entering the environment can be overwhelming because unlike our preschool rooms, elementary is completely open until large group is over and kids from grades K-5 are all together. Large group can be intimidating as well because that type of production is completely new to them.

To ease the transition, we created an event that provides an opportunity for the incoming kindergartners to experience the elementary environment with their parents. The parents check them in, stay with them during the plug-in activities and large group. Once large group is over, the kindergartners are placed in small groups just for them with a leader who gets to know them and help them connect. During that time, we get the amazing opportunity to sit with the parents and walk them through our strategy for elementary children, talking about the environments, events, and resources available to help them continue the conversations at home. That time with parents allows us to address the 3 things that Reggie says parents are silently asking when they come into our churches:

1. Give me a plan
2. Show me how it works
3. Tell me what to do today.

How do you ease the transition from preschool to elementary in your church? How can we celebrate milestones more in kids lives to make those experiences memorable for them? What milestones might we be ignoring and how could that affect our ministries?

Last week on Thursday’s webcast highlighted on www.makingoforange.com we started a conversation on Milestones. We invited a bunch of amazing children’s ministry bloggers to guest post with their thoughts on this topic. JC is kicking us off with these thoughts- check out his blog, jcisonline to read more posts. Join us today 2 pm EST for a webcast with Reggie on parent initiatives.

I’d really like to focus on a specific aspect of the milestone for this post. You see milestones are generally used to provide reference points along the journey. They should be viewed in a way that allows families to say, “Ok we’re on the right track”. They provide focus and guidance for parents. But honestly, I also think they can be tough to understand. If we see them as reference points then they hold the correct place in the realm of a child’s life. However, when they are skewed as goals or items on a checklist then the results could be ineffective.

From Dedication forward, parents begin to put pressure on themselves to perform well as parental units. By casting the vision of a journey rather than getting to salvation/baptism or to the teen years without error, we hope to see parents take some pressure off themselves and their kids. Not only that but provide proper opportunities for kids to question and grow in their view of God and Christ.

The purpose of milestones is to give people a picture of the long term, the overall life experience of a child rather than isolated singular events. Why is this small thought important?  What do milestones make you think of in children’s ministry?

So what do you do if you’re a single leader- or the only one that’s heard about or buys into the Orange strategy… yet.

This makes me think of a conversation I had with a preschool director on day 3 in her new job, at the conference, who was very part time and a busy mom as well. She admitted she had no idea where to start. Wholeheartedly she believed in what she was hearing and learning. But she was overwhelmed and asked me what she needed to tell the others back home.

My answer surprised her. I told her not to say anything to them.

I told her to put all her energy into thriving- as a preschool director in a new job- and not to worry right now about convincing the others. All she needed to do was win in her area with this new Orange strategy and she’d have their attention.

The first thing we did was look up her PDD (Partner Development Director- look yours up here). I shared that this person was her lifeline- her Orange teammate, coach and potential best friend. This was the key person to help her walk through each of the resources step by step and answer questions once the conference was over.

When she felt more confident, I told her to start meeting with potential volunteers to share what she envisioned for preschoolers and show them the resources available. Then she could ask what excited them and where they could plug in.  With a strong team and an engaging environment, others at her church will want to know more about what she’s doing and why.  Then it’s time to vision cast again and Orange will continue to spread.

So what advice do you have for a single Orange leader at a church just starting out?

This fall our First Look curriculum introduced Creation to preschoolers with an all out extravaganza. With lessons that included making a Creation mural in large group and tons of hands on activities, the Creation two month unit was a hit with preschoolers and leaders alike. Perhaps the best part of the entire unit was “The Creation Musical.” This fun and purposeful song taught preschoolers the days of Creation through great music and lots of movement. Here is one church that brought their preschoolers to main service to show everyone what they had learned about Creation.

“It truly was a blessing for our congregation to see this little guys worshipping with all their hearts. Countless parents came up to me afterward explaining what a joy it was to see them. One mom in particular, who was visiting our church that Sunday, came to me in tears because she volunteers in the preschool environment at her church (where they also do First Look) and so she was able to sing along. She explained how amazed she was to see how God is uniting different churches to invest in their children in the same ways. And how it was just made her appreciate our curriculum. So thank you guys for all you do to help create those first impressions of our Heavenly Father and how you are bringing churches and families together across the nation!” (Video and Testimony from Daniel De Jesus, Children’s Pastor at Collin Creek Community Church.)