Pinterest is a nice resource!

A Lenten/Easter Pinterest Board

Nursery

Sitting with my parents at their church Sunday. They were looking for nursery volunteers promising "no crying babies". That part was intended as a joke.

So I got thinking, of course: When we care for infants, some people seem to just have the "touch." They're better at calming them than others. Maybe skill or technique. Maybe it's the age and experience of the caregiver. Maybe a baby just "knows me" or "likes me!"

But I got thinking about visual, auditory, kinesthetic learners and I'm wondering if a child's preference for visual, auditory, kinesthetic/tactile, olfactory stimuli show up before they're even pre-schoolers when they're still infants. Beyond the comfort of the familiar, I wonder if some babies find smiles or mobiles more calming than sounds and singing or visa versa. Or whether some babies find touch, fleece, or smells more soothing than sights and sounds.

Maybe there's research out there, I haven't looked. Just wondering if, when trying to calm a crying baby - after we've exhausted the familiar (and the possibility of colic) - if babies have sensory preferences.

Did you ever find that you really identify with a particular Bible character? How about the kids in your class?

When you read a Bible story, are there ways to help kids identify with the characters in the story?

"How do you think ____ felt? Did you ever feel like that?"

"Did you ever do something like that? Do you know someone who did?" Not just the major characters but the other characters in the stories, too.

I know of someone who makes me think of Esther . . .

I know someone who makes me think of Jonah...

I know someone who makes me think of Noah's mother...

How about you?

I'm working very hard this year not to make excuses. Don't let your kids practice the habit of making excuses.

Here's a study for you. Take a look at Bible characters. Who made excuses? Who didn't? Take a look at their stories. I'm not saying any story only has one theme. Who made excuses?

Don't go in with preconceived ideas about what this means, what that means. Make observations*. Who made excuses? Where did it get them? Who could have made excuses but didn't? What role did God play? What was His response?

Take a group of older kids (who probably think they already know all they need to know about Bible stories.) Pick a topic like this or an issue they're having. Make them think. Make them search the Word. Let them look for applications. Let them challenge each other and defend why they think that story applies. You might need a hose to put out fires but you'll have a good time!

*I say, "Make observations" but it means "Let the Story teach you," as opposed to making it say what you or (or someone else) want it to say. 

If you'd like another word to search as you're searching out the God of the scriptures - "still", "quiet", "silent", "without words", or "without speaking" (depending on which translation you use) . . . can you think of Bible stories where still or quiet or silence is a key element? Verses?

"Stop fighting!" "anger," "grieve," "weeping" . . . from the last post and this post - words you'll find along the way . . .