Classroom design

I totally forgot to post yesterday. I've been working on a new design for my room for spring. If you have seen my board on pinterest you have seen it, I'm doing the one that says, "we beelong to Jesus." I'll post my version once it is complete. So far I have the bees, I'll put flowers and for Valentine's day I will put some hearts. I am also working on making a rainbow in my room for the ark. I just have to figure out where to put it. The way the room looks is very important for a class. It needs to change semiregular to keep the kids interested. I'll be posting a lot more pictures from my class to give some ideas. Follow my pinterest so you can repin them.

Classroom Management

So I might have talked about classroom management before but I think it is really important. People think it is crazy that I can get a 2 year old to sit an  listen to a story, and then I can have them listen to me when I say, "don't do that". It all comes down to how you manage the classroom. I only see my kids 1day a week, and yet my kids come in and know the rules. I treat every kid I work with like they are a year older then they really are. I know they can't do everything, but I do set high expectations for my kids. Then when my kids have their birthday, they already know how to act their age. I get kids who won't listen to their parents but are perfect for me. It literally comes down to how I manage them and the expectations I set for them. Don't be afraid of being a little mean. I'm told that I am not allowed to put the kids in timeout but if they are going crazy and not listening then they will be removed from the situation, no matter how much they cry. And that is why they listen to me and follow my rules.
Have a great day! Don't forget to follow for more helpful tips and tricks!

God made the birds and the fish

The STL rally was awesome. I will have the video up for you tomorrow. But a lot of people were really encouraging and came and talked to me! It was nice, and the speaker was really hyper which kept me awake.
This week we learned how God made the fish and the birds. As our craft the kids made fishing poles out of Popsicle sticks. I have to glue the fish on with hot glue cause there was no way for it to stick. But the kids loved them. They showed literally everyone they saw. I got the fish from my mom. Who knows where she got them from. But the kids got to pick out their fish and then I glued it to the yarn. Pretty easy and simple little craft of them. The one below is one I made, as you can tell.
My class is getting so much better! The sad part is most of them are leaving in May! =( But they have to move on, I can't keep them forever. I know some with move easier then others, but that is why transitioning is important. But I'll touch on that some more later.
Hope everyone had a great weekend, and have a great week!

Speed the Light

Today is one of my favorite times of the year. Tonight at my church is a Speed the Light Rally (STL). Churches in our district come and we gather to get pumped about raising money to help buy vehicles for missionaries over seas. As you know I am going to be a missionary so it is a very important part in my life. I will post the video of the rally on Monday and Tuesday I will talk about it more on here.
Also I was asked to speak for about 2-3 minutes about how I was called and how I am pursuing it. This is a big honor because many other amazing speakers are also going to be speaking tonight. I am super excited and can't wait to show you guys. I will talk to you more on Monday, have a great weekend!

Leading on Empty

I read this book a while ago called Leading on Empty. It basically talks about pushing yourself too far that you are so worn out you basically "snap". I recommend this book even if you aren't going to be in ministry. It really makes you think about how much you put on your plate. 

The real reason I've been thinking about this book is cause school is kicking my butt! But the book has helped me to know when to stop and think, "is this really that important?" I know what God has called me to do, and I need to make decisions that will positively effect my life instead of negatively or not at all. 

Seriously check this book out, it will help you in all aspects of your life. 

Giving

As some of you know I work with children but I also help out with my youth group. I find it important to know more than one aspect of the church. This Friday is our Speed the Light Rally (STL). It is a rally to get teens pumped about raising money to missions. Since I am going to be a missionary I know that this is important. I will be posting a video on youtube and I will post the link on here either Monday or Tuesday. But I wanted to let everyone know that missions doesn't only have to be a older kid thing. My 2-3 year old's get excited about giving money in offering, and I don't even say anything to them about it. If one kid brings money then they all run to their parents asking for money. To them it is the joy of bringing something that they can put in the jar.
I am thinking about having them find ways to earn money so that it has more meaning to them then just getting a dollar from their mom, if they earn it then they might realize that it is much more then that.
Have a great week, and let me know what you think.

Learn Everyday

As we all know it is very important to get an education. We go to school for years get a diploma and then start our lives. After that most of us stop learning. Well I know that in order to continuously teach we have to continuously learn. While, yes I am still in college, I am always learning. Even during summer I make it important to me to learn new ways to teach. Right now I have to read a book that I hope will help me for the future, it is called The Second Time We Met. My teacher told me that it is about cross cultures. Even if I am not reading books for school I find new ones for Children's ministry or just growing more with God in general. Life is full of learning opportunities. I heard someone once say, "You learn something new everyday of your life, and the only time you stop is when you are dead." Find something to learn, whether it is about the kids you are teaching or how you can teach them better. Have a wonderful week!

God made Everything!

Welcome back everyone. As you may know I have been teaching my kids about how God made everything. Yesterday we learned that God made the sun, moon, and stars. I wish I had taken a picture of what they made because it was super cute. But they worked hard on making each piece and then I attached it to make a mobile. It is amazing to see the kids learning. I also started working on having them tell me what they remembered from the story. I will ask a question like; Who, What, When, Where, Why, or How. If they get the question right then they get a marshmallow, which is the best motivation for a 2 year old. And to my amazement they remembered a lot!
I am thinking about putting together a devotional for each week for them. This way it helps the kids remember what they learned, and it helps the parents know what we are taking about. Who knows I could end up with the smartest kids! But it is amazing how much a 2-3 year old can absorb if it is fun and they get involved.
Hope everyone had a great weekend and have a great week. I will talk to you guys tomorrow! Don't forget to follow! ;)

What a day!

Well today was my first day as a substitute. It is a lot different than being a teacher in a 2-3 year old class. It really helps to see all the aspects that go into teaching. It's not just about writing lesson plans and teaching them. You have to know the kids and how they will react. I had like 4 kids I had to watch out for. I know this will help me grow in my pursuit towards missions because I won't always be with the same kids. It's about learning to adapt and over come everything that comes my way. But with God nothing is impossible! 

What a day!

Well today was my first day as a substitute. It is a lot different than being a teacher in a 2-3 year old class. It really helps to see all the aspects that go into teaching. It's not just about writing lesson plans and teaching them. You have to know the kids and how they will react. I had like 4 kids I had to watch out for. I know this will help me grow in my pursuit towards missions because I won't always be with the same kids. It's about learning to adapt and over come everything that comes my way. But with God nothing is impossible! 

Future News

Hey guys,
I hope everything is going well. I have been working out some new ideas that I might start doing. Right now I am working on activities for my class, that I will soon turn into a book. I have come to the realization that I have to have 2 different art projects because I have the same kids for 2 years, and I don't think they want the same art project on their wall. Once I have all of that done I will make it into a book for ages 1-4.
In other news I am also working on a podcast from my youth group. We'll see how that goes. Have a great Thursday and I'll talk to you all soon!

Learning more

Maybe it is just me but I do not believe in handing a child a coloring sheet as their art project for the lesson. I do not care how old they are they are capable of doing more than just scribbling on a page. This could explain why I can get 2-3 year old's to remember lessons from a week ago. As you have probably seen in my older posts, or on my Pinterest, I do crazy art projects and activities. I have noticed that if you let the children have fun, or get messy, they remember more. This could also be that I never stop talking about the lesson until they leave, but they get what I am saying. Most 2 year old's could care less about what you are saying, but mine sit and listen because they know that they are getting something out of it, even if they really just want the marshmallows. But I have noticed when I ask questions that  they are able to answer them.
Try thinking outside the box and doing something you might think as "too hard" for them. You will be surprised at what they can do. I hand my kids scissors and help them cut out their projects, I don't do it for them. But it helps the kids grow and become better learners. I try to treat my kids as if they are older, I don't treat them like little babies who can't do anything. Eventually they have to grow up and do something, so why not start now.

Reading is Important!

I know this is really out there but working in Kid's Ministry can be really hard sometimes. I recently read a book called I Blew It By Brian Dollar. It was really inspiring and made me realize it is not just me.
If you haven't read his book you need to! It is funny at some points and very informational. Although some of the things he talks about I just say to myself, really you thought that was a good idea? But then again I have grown up working with kids so it comes natural to me.
Honestly I am always trying to find good books to read to help inspire me in either my Christian life, or in working with kids. If you have any good ones let me know. I'll try to read them and talk about them. You can post a comment or find me on twitter @12cole22. I am always open to talk and would love to hear some feed back! 

Welcome back Monday.

Well I hope everyone had an amazing weekend! This month we are learning about how God made everything and yesterday's topic was plants and trees. So I had my kids make trees. It was a good fine motor skill for them cause I had them rip the paper to make leaves. It is cool when you look at the picture because it shows that they are not all on the same developmental stage.

My biggest difficulty is trying to come up with two actives because I have the kids for two years and I don't want them to take home the same project. But I figure it out. I spend Saturdays planing and Sunday morning finalizing. 

I have started working on a promotional video to get more volunteers to help in nursery. I am giving the kids lines to say. So far it is adorable!!!! I hope they play it in service because I think it will totally work! 

Have a happy Monday and make it the best because God made it that way! 

"God has, can, and will use children to change the world." Brian Dollar

My Ideas

Below are some pictures of activities I created. The whale was obviously from Jonah and the whale, or big fish. I took the 2 tables from my room and put them together. I used pool noddles to form the body and make it safe. When I do it again I will show what it looked like before I covered it. Right now I am working on making it something that I can use whenever, without having to buy all the supplies. 

The last one is from David and Goliath. It is hard to see but my sister traced my body and drew the the details. The kids used water balls, it was suppose to be outside but it rained. They trey them and Goliath like David, without the slingshot. I wish I could find or make a slingshot of the kids to use. But it is still a process and these were testers to see how they kids responded. And with kids from 1-5, which is who was allowed to come in, they LOVED it. My kids still talk about the whale, and this was about 7 months ago. 

Resources

Everyone has some ideas of what to use in their children's ministry. Some of my personal favorites are I Love Kids Church.  They have some really good ideas, mostly for older kids. Now for the younger kids, like 2-3 year old's, I use Pinterest. My boards are loaded with ideas that I morph to use with younger kids. Also posting original ideas of my own is what I am going to start doing.
I am thinking about writing a book with all the ideas that I use that work from one year old's to up to five. Honestly if it does come down to teaching a large age range I suggest targeting the younger. Use the older kids as mentors and have them help you. Surprisingly they learn a lot too because now they are teaching it. If you want to find some more good blogs for kids ministry this website has the top 100, so check it out.

Hello out there!

I have a few new updates! I got my class schedule changed to Tuesdays and Thursdays only. So I will be posting more. I still want to have my main post on Mondays. That way everything is still fresh. But I will be posting little things through out the week. So keep your eyes open! If you want to chat you can comment or find me on twitter @12cole22. I'll try my best to get back to you guys. Have a great Wednesday! 

New Year!

So today is the first Monday of the New Year! Which also means back to school for me. It might be a struggle to keep up but I will sure try. But enough about me!
My little friend from last week came back, and let me tell you it was like a 180 with him. He walked through my door and was like, "Bye mom, see you later." and did not want to leave when she came back. I think his mom was really impressed. But my class has been going really well. The kids are really growing and excited to learn. I know that they will do great things in the future.
I have been going over some ideas that I have done in the past with my kids that they really liked, and how I can make them better for the future. I'm always thinking and drawing up new ideas. My biggest focus is on raising money for my missions trip to Columbia. I know that will draw me closer to God, but also help me come up with more ideas to work with my kids now. I've also come to the realization that the only thing I really look up on Pinterest is ideas for kids ministry. It is one of my biggest boards on there, and I even made different holiday themed ones to make it smaller!
Well I hope everyone is having a great winter break, and a Happy New Year! It is so crazy knowing that it is 2014!