Bible Study Tools for Kindergarten
- Ideally, the teacher should present a brief overview of the Bible study lesson to lay the groundwork for other activities. Even a 10 minute lesson can prepare the children for the next part of the class. Asking questions and encouraging discussion keeps children on track. Writing on a white board or chalkboard also helps children follow the lesson.
- Teachers can also effectively use felt boards to present the lesson. The visual aids and bright colors emphasize the theme of the lesson and the point she wants to make, especially for lessons that are abstract. For example, using a felt tree with different fruit for a lesson on the fruit of the Spirit helps children visualize this concept. Felt board lessons can last a little longer as they engage children more than discussions with no visual aids.
- After the discussion or felt board lesson, give kindergarten students a simple coloring page or worksheet. Many online resources offer free Bible coloring pages for children. Keep the worksheets simple, as kindergartners are just beginning to read and may struggle with new words. For example, you may want the children to memorize a Bible verse to go along with the lesson. You can have the children copy the verse off the board or use a fill-in-the-blank version to simplify the lesson.
- Kindergarten children enjoy drama, dance, puppets, role playing, theater and creative arts. Total body involvement in a simple play helps young, wiggly bodies participate. As children move around, the actions enforce the Bible lesson. One example, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, involves children marching around the room quietly and then shouting at the end, like in the story in the book of Joshua in the Bible.
- Many children enjoy participating in arts and crafts, and these can also apply to kindergarten Bible lessons. Just a few craft options include making cards, decorating paper bags, foam crafts and paper plate crafts.
- Kindergartners also engage through music and songs, especially those that incorporate motions. By acting out the words to the song or using sign language with the songs, children will remember the story or lesson they learned.
- Bible games further reinforce the lessons. Even a familiar game such as "hangman" can apply to the lesson as the teacher uses places, names or other words to remind the children of the material.
- In today's society of multimedia applications, Bible study tools for kindergarten children are not left by the wayside. Videos and interactive computer games offer another way for children to learn. Geared toward young learners, Veggie Tales, a popular Christian video series, provides movies, online computer games and coloring pages for kids. Movies such as "Dave and Giant Pickle" tell Bible stories using animation to reinforce Bible study lessons.