Help, I am teaching a 3rd and 4th grade sunday school class....?

Question

I Told my pastor a couple weeks ago that I enjoyed teaching and if he ever needed a fill in for a sunday school class or to preach for him on sunday morning to let me know. He came back and told me that the 3rd and 4th grade class needs a teacher to fill in till september because their current teacher said she needed a break. I am a high school graduate (17 years old) and asked if I can teach till I go to college at the end of August. I have preached and taught several times to youth and adults, but never kids. I have no idea what to expect or do. Help please, tips or ideas of what to expect are welcome. Thanks!!

Answer 1

Don't show that you are nervous!  Kids are fun! Just be fun and interact with them.  Relax...  plan something fun to help tie the lesson in and make sure you remember to be engaging and interactive because kids have short attention spans!  You will do great! Pray and God will help you!  Just remember kids are not the same as adults... go easy on them and have fun!!!!!

Good luck... and I will pray for you!

Answer 2

I am not sure what age 3rd and 4th grade children are?  (I'm from NZ) But, just make sure you are organised....it will help you feel confident and the kids will see this as leadership on your part....

Set your resources up so it's easy for you to just grab them...if the children are old enough, choose a few of them to help you....

I always had singing, an object lesson and an activity that helps children understand what the lesson was about....

Kids are great, have fun with them, they may test you out a bit but that's normal....just have fun and try not to be too hard on yourself to get everything right....Blessings....

Answer 3

I taught the 3rd/4th S.S. for 10 years and for the past 3 years have taught 4th grade in a Christian school.  The kids this age are not too different from your teenage friends as far as maturity goes (believe it or not).  They aren't "little kids" anymore and can have real conversations and do real lessons.

Do you have a curriculum to use?  If not google "Sunday School lesson" and whatever you want to teach - Paul, Moses, etc.  They're probably tired of all the little kid "stories" - Adam & Eve, Noah, etc.  In the Bible class I teach at school we spent a lot of time on Paul, various parables, fruit of the Spirit, etc.  

They don't like to sit in the chairs all the time.  Try to think of something to get them up and moving, even if it's as simple as acting out the lesson.  Say you're teaching a lesson about friendship (Ruth & Naomi, etc.)  you can give them situations to act out like in charades - what a friend would do if someone borrowed your gameboy and broke it, what someone who's not your friend would do if ....  I've also done a lesson about how we need each other (parts of the body of Christ) by letting them wrap a present together, but they only get to use one hand each.

You might want to talk to the teachers that teach 1st and 2nd grade or the orignal teacher for ideas, also.  I'm sure you'll do well.