Preparation 101

It’s Saturday night and somewhere in the world a church school teacher just realized that tomorrow’s lesson calls for five maple leaves—but there are two feet of snow outside. Elsewhere, a leader and his family are trying to drink their way through twelve cans of pop because he’s discovered a dozen empty cans are required for the morning lesson. Sound familiar?

We’re passionate about the kids we teach and we’re enthusiastic about the lessons we’re teaching. But prep time? Not so exciting! Although we know the materials we use to teach our lessons help make Scripture come alive for kids, sometimes we get bogged down with the details. Take heart—it doesn’t have to be that way! Read on for tips to make preparing each session a snap!

Embrace the options! After years of teaching curriculum with few choices, the many options in WWM can seem overwhelming! The truth is, the variety of activities in WWM make teaching less work and more fun because you get to teach what works in your own church setting. Choose activities based on what your kids like to do, how you like to teach, and the amount of time you have, and you’ll create a session that works! Remember, no one (or at least almost no one!) can do all the activities in WWM sessions. You get to choose the ones that will work best for you.

Meet God every Monday. Pour yourself a coffee, put on music, put up your feet, and spend some time with God. Read the WWM devotional. Pray. Then let the Holy Spirit get to work, providing you with what you need to make your lesson soar.

Check it out and check it off! Go through the leader’s guide, check out the different options, and check off the ones that will work best for you and your kids—it’s that simple!

Tip: Create your checklist on Monday and you’ll have a week to gather supplies and prepare your lesson!

Go stand in the closet! Knowing what is and isn’t in the supply closet will help you avoid planning an activity and arriving on a Sunday morning only to discover that someone else just grabbed the last glue stick.

Tip: Many churches use a supply coordinator—someone with great organizational and administrative gifts—to gather supplies for leaders each week.

Tote things along. Purchase an inexpensive tote bag and fill it with standard supplies like scissors, stickers, markers, crayons, pencils, glue sticks, CDs, and a Bible. You’ll be the first to know if you’re running out of something, and it will save you from frantic Sunday morning supply searches!

Ask the kids! Sometimes the kids in your group might have easier access to a prop than you do. Maybe you need a doll, some building blocks, or several pillows. Call your kids and ask if they could bring in the needed items. Kids love to contribute!

Get ready, set, go! Arrive each week ahead of your class so you have time to get your supplies ready, get your room set, and go greet your kids! The extra ten minutes you give yourself to prepare your room will allow you enjoy the session as much as the kids do!

Be flexible. OK, so you messed up! You waited until Saturday night, you forgot to look in the supply closet, and now you don’t have the dowels needed for a flag making activity. Think outside the box—could you use pencils or Popsicle sticks? Is someone else teaching the same lesson? Could you choose a simpler option that requires no prep? Look for ways to solve the problem creatively, learn from your mistakes, and then go back and re-read the tips in this newsletter!