Teaching: Purity Retreat
Preparation 3 hrs
Time I was there 3 1/2 hrs


I spoke to young girls ranging from the ages of 10- 15 speaking to them about purity, insecurities, how God views them, and how men should treat them from a godly perspective. It was all apart of a Girls weekend, geared toward teaching young girls about body image and purity. There were approximately 20- 30 girls who attended, all ranging from different backgrounds and different areas of Marion. Some of the girls were from Christian homes and others were not, some we're sexually abused, abused themselves, or dealt with insecurities.

Schedule
5:30 6:00 Set up and practice
6:00-6:30 We ate and fellowshipped
6:45-7:20 I spoke


I began by opening up with scripture:

Isaiah 64:8

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

Then I showed a video and asked them to think of those scriptures. The video was an example of how media distorts beauty. They took a woman's picture and changed her features so I asked them to identify them.

And explained how we allow other factors to set the standard for what beauty but allow God to set the standard. I continued on to share my testimony about dealing with insecurities.

After I finished my testimony I had the girls stand and say that they were beautiful women of
God. I continued on by talking about how God views us as women, and if God views us that way, we should treat ourselves as such. I also talked about how men of God should view and treat women.

Using 1 Peter 3:4 and Proverbs 31

How a man should view us

A man of God should treat a woman of God as if he was treating His own body; he should love her as Christ would love her.

A virtuous woman is sweeter than honey and more precious than fine diamonds.

If he is a man of God, then he see's woman in the analogy that Christ set fourth. She represents a bride to be presented to Christ. Women are not possessions to be had, they are not and will never be a man’s to possess. As women of God, they belong to him, and as a man of God, it becomes our job to protect them for Him. Some people say that taking care of women with chivalry is old school, and I would agree. But, God is old school and with him, that fact makes him all the more relevant. Therefore, I see the way men of God treat women of God from the perspective of old school and just as relevant today as it has always been.

A virtuous woman is like the valuable pearl that the man sold everything he had to obtain. A man should be willing to give what he has to have the opportunity to be entrusted with something as valuable in the kingdom of God as a virtuous woman.

Response: It went very well. The girls were attentive but after a while I could tell they were getting a bit tired so I cut it short. Afterwards I talked to a girl for 40 minutes talking about family, faith in God, and especially her sister.

This week 1 1/2 Sunday School
1 1/2 Church
3 hrs Purity Retreat
3 hrs Concert IWU, Taylor, Lakeview choirs

In class:
This week I actually taught the students and I was a bit nervous. I was given the curriculum a week prior to and I studied the material and tried to come up with creative ways to present the information. I felt pretty confident about the lesson because I was familiar with the story. In either case I enjoyed that day, it was the most interaction I had with the kids and they opened up more because I was the teacher. It was a bit overwhelming at first because she had me do everything. The kids all came in at one time and I had to give them points, listen to them recite the prior bible verse, and give them the activity.

Lesson: I taught from Matthew 25, it was the story of the Master and the three servants. The bible verse that went along with the story was from Ephesians which states , "Whatever your hands find you to do, do it with all your might"
The moral of the lesson was to express that God gives us all abilities and we should use them, but also use them glorify God.

Class Schedule: 9
9:20-9:40 The children came in to greet the teacher and they each can receive points for the following: remembering last week’s verse, bringing their bible, bringing offering, being on time, etc. Those points allow them to pick little gifts or candies equivalent to the points they received that day. Then I gave them a worksheet and I gave them an activity. They had to draw a picture of themselves doing something they are really good at.
9:40 -9:50The children all got into a circle to explain and show their picture . Some of them did a very good job and illustrated their talent very well. I tied the drawings in with the lesson by explaining that God gives each every person different abilities.
Afterwards we played a game which I thought was didn’t go as well, but the teacher thought it was good. I had them race to a bucket of pennies, scoop some out and run back to place them in an empty bucket. Once they were done they had to say the first word of the verse and the next person would do the same and just add on the next word.

9:50 -10:10 I told the story of the Master and the three servants in Matthew 25 and asked questions in between to make the story more real to them. To see if they were paying attention I wrote out phrases and sentences but they had to fill in the blanks.
10:10- 10:25 Clean up time
Response:
The kids were so receptive of the lesson and respectful of my authority. The kids engaged in conversation and were not afraid to speak their mind; they shared stories and so on. After they were done with their pictures in the beginning of class, they were eager to show me what they had done. They listened very well to the actual story. I didn’t have to tell anyone to put anything away or pay attention.

Teacher's Comment
Knows names well
Good transition to story
Good tie in after story
Good listener to the children
What I can do better
I could have chose a better game
The teacher said I took too long in the beginning

Questions

How do you deal with a child who tries to take advantage of the teacher because they are new?
How do you allow the teacher to still have authority even though you are still teaching the class?

teaching report #2..practicum report #10

Name: Rachael Mulder
Teaching Report #2
Time Spent: 5 ½ hours (1 ½ hours preparation, 2 hours church service, 2 hours Sunday school)

My Lesson
This week I decided to teach on the miracle of Jesus healing the leper. My goal was to give the kids an understandable rendition of the Bible story, allowing them to see that our God is a powerful God that we should go to when we are sick, hurting, sad, etc.

Class Schedule:
11:00-11:30 -- Arrival and Playtime: As usual, we allowed the kids to play for the first half an hour. Today we started out with six kids: Zion (2 years), Durane (4 years), Tucker (5 years), Sarah (4 ½ years), Claire (4 ½ years), and Audrey (1 year). Zion, Durane and Sarah played with play dough. Claire and Tucker were a little more active and made up their own stories and games and kept themselves occupied fairly well. While we were playing, Claire kept talking about how she had been sick the week before. It provided me with the opportunity to prep the kids for the lesson by saying, “I’m sorry you were sick Claire, but we are going to talk about a man who was sick today in our story. He was made better by Jesus.” To which she replied, “Cool, I think that Jesus helped to make me better too!” It was really cute and provided a great segue into the lesson.

11:45-12:00 – Lesson: This week I decided to have the kids sit in chairs for the lesson. I was hoping that this would provide more structure and less opportunity for distraction. I also decided to ask for prayer requests this week. Once again, Sarah asked that we pray for her Uncle Bill who died, her family, everyone in the room, and all the toys. The other kids asked that we pray for their families as well. This led to a conversation about grandmas and grandpa’s dying etc. I brought the conversation back to prayer, and then opened up the lesson by praying for the class. This week, I found a story of Jesus healing the leper online. Last week, the story of David and Goliath was a little too in depth and long. This week, the story was quite short, but I was able to become animated about the story. I explained to the kids what it meant to have leprosy and that lepers were sick and could not be around their family and friends. Then, I told them the story of Jesus healing the leper. I used the craft as part of the story. The craft is a cut out of two men with leprosy and sad faces. You fold the men into fours, and open it up and the leprosy is gone! The kids really enjoyed this addition to the story and it provided them with a visual. Afterwards I asked them these questions:
· Was a person with leprosy health or sick?
· Could they be around other people, their family, or friends?
· Who did the leper go to in order to be healed?
· Did Jesus heal him? How?
· What did the man do?
· Have you ever been sick?
o Can God heal you?
o We should have faith in God and bring our requests to him!

12:00-12:20 – Snack: For snack the kids had cookies and graham crackers. They were very well behaved. During snack, Andrea and I asked the kids questions about the story.

12:20-12:45 – Craft: For craft, I had the kids make the “miracle healing of the leprosy men.” In order to complete the craft the kids had to glue white and red dots on the cutout of two men with leprosy. Then, I showed them how to fold the men so that once they opened it up the men were happy and healed! Most of the kids had no problem with this craft. Both Tucker and Durane were very excited about it. Sarah and Zion needed some help, but were able to complete it. Claire though, all of a sudden started bawling! She was frustrated that the glue was leading out the sides of the dots. She cried for about ten minutes before we were finally able to get her to settle down. This was quite abnormal for her, and I wondered if there was something going on at home (her parents are divorced).

12:45-1:00 – Play Time: For the last fifteen minutes, we let the kids do whatever they wanted. Most of them played together during this time.

The Response
-- Today there were six kids: Zion, Durane, Tucker, Audrey, Claire, and Sarah. Half way through the class, Audrey was taken to be with the other two kids in nursery. It was exciting to have more kids in class this week. These are the “regulars” for this class and I was excited to have the opportunity to teach them.
-- The kids really seemed to understand the lesson. Reading a shorter version of the Bible story really helped to keep their attention. It also helped to put the story into words they could understand. Throughout the lesson, I asked them questions to see if they understood the story. They were able to answer every one! For the most part, they also really enjoyed the craft. I was encouraged when the parents came, and each kid was able to explain the craft of Jesus healing the leper to their families.

Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation
Andrea was just as encouraging as last week. She thought that the craft was a really great idea. She also complemented me on the use of the chairs for the lesson. It really helped to keep the kid’s attention, and prohibited them from moving around and touching each other. She told me that I did a really good job reading the story to kids, keeping it exciting and interesting. Overall, Andrea told me that I did a really great job organizing a lesson plan, especially when there is no structure in the children’

Did Well
-I was very organized and had a specific plan and purpose for the lesson.
-The craft and lesson worked together really well.
-The craft worked well for all the ages (2-5 years).
-I was energetic and excited about the Bible story, and was able to keep the kids on better track than last week.
-I set some ground rules for Bible story time: no talking, touching, and raising hands to answer questions.
-I was able to realize changes that needed to be made from last week, especially in the area of telling the Bible story. I was able to adjust and adapt, making the necessary changes.

To Improve
-I really struggle when kids cry when they don’t get what they want. Claire, Durane and Zion all cried at some point during Sunday School because they did not get something that they wanted. I just do not have a lot of patience for that. I need to learn how to have more compassion for these kids, as well as learn how to address these situations.
-I need to learn how to have more structure during the kid’s free time.

Questions
-- How do you handle situations in which kids are crying? For the most part, they cry simply because they don’t get what they want. How do you let them know that this is not how to address this issue?
-- In what ways could I provide the kids with more structure during their play time? The room is pretty small, but at times they get out of control.
-- How do you set rules and guidelines with kids who are so young?

Final Blog

TIME SPENT THIS WEEK:

4/6/08: 1 hour Sunday school

3 hours Kid’s Church in the evening

CLASS THIS WEEK:
This week, for my final observations, I went back into the young adult Sunday school because there were no kids for the 3^rd-6^th grade class. This is the same class I attended a few weeks ago and it was a similar structure, only they took a little more time for fellowship and discussing the verses they were looking at this week. There were also an additional number of students which was great to see!

Much of the conversation that took place was between the teacher, Mike, and a student, Dave. We were looking at the last few verses of Romans 12. We discussed evil, peace, war, and many other topics that were very debate-able. It was nice to see that we could openly discuss these issues, and Mike would continually encourage that any opinion is appreciated, but it is sometimes difficult for people to share in these types of situations. If it wasn’t Mike and Dave talking, there were about three other students who would talk and everyone else listened. I don’t think this was a bad thing, but I find it difficult in those situations for everyone to share. Also, when only a few people are talking, others seem to lose focus on the topic and do not really pay attention. Even though I feel like this is an amazing way of studying the Bible, it is also difficult to get everyone involved.

I do have to give props to Mike for preparing for the lesson. So often when you are not following a curriculum, and only doing a Bible study, it can become easy to just slack off and not put much effort into it. By the insights and questions Mike brings to the table, it is evident he is very well prepared. It is also evident that the students who are there are on regular basis are prepared for this lesson also. I have enjoyed observing this class and can see that the students are learning in this situation.

QUESTIONS THIS WEEK:

1. How much time should a Sunday school teacher put into lesson preparation?

2. What is a good way of getting students to talk and put input into a discussion, without offending others?

3. How do you feel about a Sunday school program that doesn’t use curriculum – even for the adult ages?

March 29

Time Spent Sunday School 1hr 1/2
church: 1 hr 1/2

This was interesting there were only approximately 5 students who came to Sunday School. The all came in sporadicly that day as well. Some students were gone due to Spring Break.
The lesson this week was about the Lord blessing people and helping them find what was lost that. The teacher told the story of the woman who lost a coin and how with faith she was able to find. She also told the story of the shepherd who lost his sheep and with diligence he found it as well. All this to say that God seeks those who are lost so that they can come to know Christ. And just as the women and the shepherd rejoiced after losing their items so does the Lord rejoice in our choice to be found by Him.
Furthermore, if I could rate this lesson I would say it was very effective and yet one of the most simpliest lessons I've seen. As I looked at the students during the lesson they keep their eyes on the teacher and was intrigued by the story. They also engaged in conversations about the story. They played hangman to help the students remember key words from the story. There were times when I didn't know what the word was. (My attention span is very low). Before the lesson began she had them draw a picture of four people who they thought were important and to tie the lesson in she explained who God is important and how we are important to him.

In addition this week was good because she is giving me more to do. Instead of doing attendance she has meen give the students their worksheet explain what they are suppose to do. In two weeks I'll be able to teach.

Questions:
Why is that students are able to concentrate in a smaller group?
I know the obvious is less distractions but can't a large group be just as effective
I wonder if the concentration was due to the asbsence of more voicestrous students.

teaching report #1...practicum report #9

Name: Rachael Mulder
Teaching Report #1
Time Spent: 5 ½ hours (1 ½ hours preparation, 2 hours church service, 2 hours Sunday school)

My Lesson:
- This week I decided to teach on the story of David and Goliath. My primary goal of this lesson was to give the children the opportunity to hear the story in a way they could easily understand. I also wanted to allow them to see that even David, as a child, could do great things through the power of God.

Class Schedule:

11:00-11:30 -- Arrival and Playtime: The kids usually arrive promptly at eleven, as the service starts soon after. This week we only had one girl at the start of the service. Her name is Sarah and she is 4 ½ years old. After the service started, we were given Audrey to watch. She is only 1 ½ years old, but she was the only child in the nursery so she was given to us as well. For the first fifteen minutes Andrea and I read bible stories to Sarah. After fifteen minutes Tucker arrived. Tucker is five years old, and quite a handful. For the next fifteen minutes, we played with playdough. During this time, Andrea and I asked the kids about what they did for Easter. Then we had them clean up and prepare for the lesson.
11:30-11:45 – Lesson: To prep kids for the lesson I had the kids sit on their carpet squares. To open, I asked if either of them wanted to pray. Sarah volunteered, and for the next three minutes prayed for us, her entire family, her uncle that died, the toys in the room, and lots more. I finally had to cut her off with an excited amen! While her prayer was long winded, I was excited that she wanted to pray. For the lesson, I read the kids the story of David and Goliath. I used a children’s book with pictures to keep the kids attention and give them a mental picture. As I read the story, I asked the kids questions to see if they understood. I ended the story with only a few discussion questions:
· Did people think that David would be able to defeat Goliath? Why?
· David did defeat Goliath, do you think he did it alone? Or, do you think that God helped him to defeat Goliath?
· David was a child just like you, and God helped him to great things. What great things do you think that God can help do?
11:45-12:00 – Game: After the lesson I had the kids play a variation of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Prior to class I made a cut-out of Goliath. For the game, I pinned him on the wall. Then, I blindfolded each child and gave them three “rocks” made out of paper. Then I spun them around. Whichever child put the rock closest to the forehead of Goliath won a prize. Sarah ended up winning the game. Both of the kids were really excited about the game and really seemed to enjoy it.
12:00-12:20 – Snack: For snack the kids had peanut butter crackers. During snack, Andrea and I asked Sarah and Tucker questions about David and Goliath.
12:20-12:45 – Craft: For craft, I had the kids make sheep out of their handprints. We traced their hands on colored paper and then cut them out and glued cotton balls on them. We made sheep because David was a shepherd boy. I also asked the kids questions about David and Goliath during craft, specifically asking them what they would tell their parents when they showed them their craft.
12:45-1:00 – Play Time: For the last fifteen minutes, Sarah and Tucker were free to do whatever they wanted. They ended up creating a game and playing it together.

The Response
Today there were three children, only two of them were supposed to be in our class. Audrey, who in normally in nursery, was in our class because there was no one to watch the nursery kids. Sarah and Tucker usually attend. Normally there are at least two other kids that come.
For the age of Sarah and Tucker, I believe they responded well to the lesson. There were a couple times when Sarah became distracted during the story. If I asked a question, she would answer it by going off on a rabbit trail. I had to bring her attention back by reminding her that she could tell her story after we finished with David and Goliath. They were able to answer the discussion questions I asked with very little prompting. They were also able to answer most of the questions about David and Goliath that Andrea and I asked them throughout the rest of Sunday school. Tucker really enjoyed the Pin the Rock on Goliath’s Head game, and Sarah really enjoyed the craft. She even made two sheep!

Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation
Andrea and I teach the class every week, so I asked her to give me an evaluation. She told me that I did a great job picking a lesson for the kids, and preparing a version of David and Goliath that the kids could understand. She complemented me several times on my game and craft ideas. She even said that she would probably use the game sometime in the future. She also told me that I did a good job at staying patient with the kids, and drawing back their attention. As for improvements, Andrea encouraged me to find creative ways to keep the kids from verbally interjecting during the story.

Did Well
- I prepared very well for the lesson, craft and game.
- The schedule of class flowed very well, especially as I tried to change up times of sitting and being active.
- I did a good job of tying an Old Testament Bible story into real life by drawing parallels between David and the kids.
- I remained patient through distraction, and kept the energy level up.

To Improve
- I need to find better resources for the Bible Story, maybe use a flannel graph instead of a book. That would allow for more freedom in the word choice, giving the children better understanding.
- I need to find better ways to keep the kids focused on the lesson. At this age, it is so easy for them to become distracted and get others distracted. The questions I asked caused Sarah to go on a “rabbit trail.” I must learn how to ask questions more narrowly.

Questions
- How do you ask kids questions in order to determine their understanding, yet prevent “rabbit trails” from occurring?
- Should we request that nursery kids stay in nursery, even if there is only one child? It was not too inconvenient having Audrey in class this week, but it she did require all of Andrea’s attention leaving me in charge of the rest of the students by myself.
- How do you adjust your lesson to class size? I expected more than two students this week.

Week 8

TIME SPENT THIS WEEK:

3/30/08: 3 hours for Sunday school and worship

CLASS THIS WEEK:

This week, I actually taught Sunday school for the 3^rd through 6^th graders. I had a really good learning experience this week. I did not have much time to prepare the lesson since Angel asked me later in the week, and then I was out of town on Saturday, but I had in mind what I wanted to do. I took about an hour of preparation time on Saturday, but I used the idea we had made up for our chapter on the Temptations of Jesus. The lesson went well, and even though it was a bit difficult to help them understand, I believe they walked away with a better knowledge of how to say no to a temptation, and when we give in and say yes, to ask God for forgiveness. I believe it went over well, because Sophie was able to really discuss with me different scenarios she had in mind about temptations. Sarah was pretty good about it, but I don’t think I really captured her attention. I learned that I need to have a lesson that is for all the age groups, and not just the older/more mature students.

The observation I did was in Kid’s World on Sunday evening. I went with George, another leader, and watched as he taught the 1^st and 2^nd grade class. In his class, there were 3 girls, a set of twins, Bibi and Lili, and another girl, Zoe. All three did well with the lesson on respect. Even though the video George had them watch was quite old, they still understood what was being taught. George did a very good job with the girls, by stopping the video at different points to interact with them by explaining some parts and also by asking for feedback. One of the twins always had an answer for one of George’s questions. Whenever she finished saying her answer she would look right back at her sister. Every time she did this, I was thinking, “Did I do this as a twin with my sister?” I think there were times when I did, but not every time. I wonder why she does that. My guess is because she is looking for affirmation. Zoe answered one question and caught me off guard by how well she answered the question. I wanted to lean forward and hug her because I did not think that a girl her age could come up with such a mature answer. I learned that a lot can happen if instead of just watching a video, the teacher takes time to stop the video and interact with the students.

QUESTIONS THIS WEEK:

1. Why do you think that one of the twins would look to the other twin after she answered each question? Is this something all siblings do, or just something twins may do?
2. How do you adequately prepare for a Sunday school lesson?
3. At the church I work with there is no curriculum. I like creating lessons myself, but I think curriculum would be a good idea to have on hand. The problem is there SS is small right now and they don’t want to spend a lot of money on curriculum for five students. What would be a way to get curriculum that has good quality, but cheaper?
4. How do we as teachers encourage other teachers who have no kids showing up?