Worship for Schools: Toddlers – Part III
Part 3: Worship for toddlers: the final chapter… or not…
Well the end of last term also signaled the end of our first Worship for Toddlers adventure. But the exciting news is that it has gone down so well at school and in the community that I am on the cusp of beginning it again…
FIRST I WAS AFRAID…
What a wonderful experience it was – at the start I was a bit nervous about working with such young children, not really knowing if the younger ones would gain anything from the experience. Churches so often only provide a crèche for toddlers, with little or no spiritual input, that maybe they knew something I didn’t. Can small children worship? Can they understand anything about God? Are we wasting our time?
Clearly the answer is a great big NO! By the end of our time together the children were listening to Bible stories, they were dancing, singing along to Worship songs with such joy on their faces that it was clear they were in the presence of their maker – and He was dancing with us and smiling on us. Parents told me the children were going round in the week singing these songs too; playing while singing songs about God…what a lovely image.
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE CHILDREN…
My number one piece of advice is don’t change much, if anything, from the structure of the sessions from one week to the next. The children liked the repetitiveness of the sessions – prayer, singing, story, craft, games, singing, prayer – was my basic structure and I didn’t really deviate. Very quickly the older children knew when they had to sit, stand, dance, sing, copy actions – and the littler ones followed the older children. By the end all the children were sat listening intently to the story, they all joined in the actions and knew what was coming next. Adults and older children may get bored easily and like change, but not toddlers – not if you want any semblance of control!
GET YOURSELF A LINDA…
Although I did the upfront thing in these sessions – I planned the theme for each sessions, chose the songs, wrote the puppet scripts – but behind the scenes I had our business manager, Linda. She took contact details, kept the register, bought things that I needed, tidied away the toys during the singing time so they children wouldn’t be distracted, organized the refreshments, and set the room up beforehand. I couldn’t have done it without her. The unseen angel behind the scenes – anyone who does up front leading or worship needs someone like this oiling the cogs!
FINAL THOUGHTS…
For anyone reading this who is involved in church leadership, if you don’t have a weekly session aimed specifically for toddlers then get one going! Find a couple of like-minded people and give it a go. That’s all we did. We had little experience with this age group, no real idea what we were doing – but drawing on other people’s experience, their suggested resources and sheer enthusiasm and prayer we showed a huge group of children (and their parents) a glimpse of the joy that knowing God can bring. We had a party in the last session – lots of singing, dancing and party games, recapping the things we’d learned. Towards the end I just stood back and watched these little tots dancing around, arms in the air, full of smiles, singing about being part of the big family of God. These youngest members of God’s family taught me a thing or two about the joy of simply worshipping in God’s presence.
I felt truly blessed.
And now… here we go again!
Matt Harding @mattharding007 aka @educationchat
Matt Harding is a Deputy Head Teacher in St. Matthew’s Primary School in Little Lever, Bolton. He has been teaching for 16 years. He is currently the subject leader for RE and Worship specialism in his school. Matt is married to Nicola, has two children aged 12 and 1, is a big Man Utd fan and loves his mum’s Easter biscuits.
