Preschool Bible Song

Hey Tanya,

Great to hear from you, and great to hear the graphics won over your husband!

Yes, I've spent a year working on preschool theory, systems, models and proto-arts-based curriculum designs. It hasn't quite made its way into Bible Song yet, but I'm anxious to get that started (after I finish my last dozen cities this fall - including Fort Dodge, IA this Sunday afternoon/evening and Omaha later on).

And yes, when the time is right, I'd love to have you consider testing.

Now, for the preschool problem: Sorry to hear the preschool kids didn't have a good experience.

If the parents and kids are together experiencing the theme opening, arts creation time, and show-and-tell closing, you have an infinitely better chance of the verse going home Monday - Saturday, and them continuing the faith incubation all week long.

The very best way to do Bible Song - and all faith education if you want it to get home and make a maximum impact - is to KILL the drop-off mentality and have parents AND kids together. That means the preschool director is NOT EVER bringing a group of 3 - 5 year olds into a strange room. That means parents bring their own kids into a fun, active, energetic space and from the safety of the parent's lap, they are drawn in to the music, motion and joy.

Imagine a preschool teacher bringing a pew full of 3 - 5 year olds into a regular worship service.

It's just not going to work.

If you have specific suggestions for what the little ones - and their parents - should have in their hands to supplement the theme materials at their cognitive level, I'm all ears.

And, if you know of anyone near Fort Dodge who needs a little Melheimian shot-in-the-arm-kick-in-the-pants, send 'em over to www.faithink.com.

Blessings, blessings, blessings!

Your servant in Christ,

Rich

________________________________________

Rich,

Again, I know you are very busy. So, I will try to make this short.  I
attended a conference in Des Moines (Plymouth Congregational) a few
months ago, purchased Bible Song and had our first Sunday yesterday.

You mentioned to me at the conference that you are in the development
stage of a preschool program but that you might be interested in a
church willing to test it and provide feedback. What are your current
thoughts on this?

Our preschool director brought kids into my first Sunday teaching Bible
Song that were from 3 to 5 years old.  (They have always been in their
own class and some have recently moved up from the nursery!)  I had kids
crying and scared and I was so disappointed because I have become quite
passionate about FaithInk, knowing it is just what our church needs.

I have made a proposal to our director to consider some other options
and wanted to know if the possibility of being a 'tester' for your
preschool program was even on the horizon.

If you have time, maybe you could let me know about that.

Thank you for using your skills to create something so relevant.  My
husband, the skeptic, looked over my shoulder as I was preparing and
said, "Wow, I'm really impressed with those graphics.  That is high
quality."  Then he spent four hours helping me get my room media-ready!!

Tanya Milledge
Oskaloosa, Iowa

Comments

[Amy K]

Regarding preschoolers- It is heartbreaking when our cute little ones have such a reaction. Please don't give up. Here at my church, we are living proof that preschoolers LOVE Bible Song! I have a few suggestions that I think will help.
First- invite preschool parents to attend each week with their child. It is unrealistic (and downright cruel) to ask one teacher to be in charge of 6 preschoolers in a large group setting. If the kids walk into large group with their parent, they will feel safe. My experience is that when you tell parents of a 4 year old that they don't have to pry their crying child off their leg, then head off to coffee time and worry- parents are SO relieved, and Bible Song is definitely a blast for parents- which is why we (Christian Educators) love it so much!
Suggested changes to lg group presentation- ask preschool families to sit up front. When planning the presentation- ALWAYS keep your four year olds in mind. They NEED to feel successful, and parents need to see them learning. Keep the sign language to 4-5 key words. Repeat, repeat, repeat- "Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born- HOW old was Abraham?" or "They went to Jerusalem- can you all say it with me...Jerusalem" If you add other songs to your lg group time, invite preschoolers up to lead the actions- like fill my cup and let it overflow, etc. THe other thing I do is to do the readers's theater separate from the cartoon slides. We do the RT, THEN review the story with the cartoons. So I will say, "Let's watch the cartoons, and see what we remember from the story", then review and quiz the kids. Use a laser pointer to ask who the people are or what a certain object is on the screen. Don't be afraid that this will "dumb it down" and the older kids will be bored- older kids inately understand that some things are meant for the little ones. You'll find that parents will be shouting out the answers too, and you just can't buy that kind of example for kids.
The result of this is so much more than preschoolers who like to come to Sunday school- the result is families who grow together in faith. They have the shared experience, which creates conversation and teaching in the home without the parents even knowing they are teaching! And accomplishing the goal of families doing the FAITH5 every night in every home is a pc of cake when parents are on the front lines of their kid's faith formation each week at church.
I would suggest inviting ALL parents to be a part of the lg group, but requiring it for preschoolers. Then next year, require it for pre-k, and so on until you have all parents in attendance each week! I think you'll find that parents will enjoy it so much that you won't have to MAKE them come to Bible Song, they will want to come. And they will tell their friends.
We made the change to family Sunday school a number of years back, and I just can't put into words the blessing it has been to our families.
Hope this is helpful. Would be glad to visit via email or phone regarding our experience.

Blessing on your ministry.

[Tanya M]

Thank you for such a thoughtful reply. I am VERY GLAD to see your comment on the reader's theater. I have been concerned that our noses are in the papers reading. I've wondered if the story is even being heard because the kids are worried about reading. I will definitely start with RT and then use slides as a review. That answers one of my biggest questions.

We are on our 4th week and already hearing buzz among parents. However, we are using Bible Song as our "kid's church" so I am going to have to rotate parents in to leave some people in 'big' church. (Although they may get more out of Bible Song in my opinion!) So, I will use these suggestions with some tweaks in upcoming weeks and hope each week gets better. I was wondering if there was a yahoo group or something where I could post questions. I guess this blog is used that way??

Tanya M

[Rich Melheim]

Wow.

Wow.

Beautiful.

Wow.

Anointed?

God’s Word is hyper-anointed. And when it enters you as you enter sleep, so is your night.

(-;

Rich