| It is not hard to start a Sunday school class for | | | | can find many felt made stories in Christian |
| preschoolers. Once you have passed the idea by | | | | bookstores or online. Young children also enjoy |
| your minister and/or elders put an ad in the | | | | object lessons where they can touch and feel |
| church bulletin that you are starting a program, | | | | things that help them remember what they learn |
| and ask for volunteers to assist you. It really is | | | | during lessons. |
| that easy, but here is some more in-depth | | | | Lesson Plans |
| information to get a class started smoothly. | | | | You will need to have some lesson plans ready |
| How to Start | | | | before you start. There are some good online |
| Find out how many parents are interested in this. | | | | resources for ideas on lesson plans, as well as |
| Gather together a list of names and phone | | | | arts and craft ideas and things you can print out. |
| numbers. You can put a sign-up sheet in the foyer | | | | You can also purchase pre-made lesson plans |
| of the church. Once you find out how many | | | | through places like Standard Publishing, Gospel |
| children there will be, you will then know how | | | | Light, and other well-known curriculum publishers. |
| much assistance you will need. | | | | Keep in mind that preschoolers are very active |
| Find a suitable available room to hold your class. | | | | and will not want to sit still for long periods of |
| An ideal room should have a bathroom for small | | | | time. A typical lesson plan for preschoolers would |
| children, or at least be close to a central | | | | be something like this: |
| bathroom in the church. Many preschoolers are | | | | - Start off by singing a few simple songs. Jesus |
| either potty trained or in the midst of being | | | | Loves Me is a good one to start with. |
| trained. | | | | - Have coloring sheets and crayons ready on the |
| Before you can start your preschool Sunday | | | | tables before the children come in. Print out |
| school class, you will need to be prepared. Get the | | | | coloring sheets that pertain to your lesson. Let |
| room all ready and all your needed supplies before | | | | the children sit and color the picture. |
| starting your class. You want the children to be | | | | - Have the children sit in front of you on the floor |
| excited when they start this new class, and you | | | | for story time. Bible story time should only be |
| want parents to know that they are in a good | | | | about 10 or 15 minutes. Get them involved by |
| Christian environment. | | | | asking a few discussion questions about the story. |
| What You Will Need | | | | - Teach your class a relative Bible verse for |
| The first concern is safety. Have matching name | | | | memory practice. |
| tags for the preschoolers and the parents. This | | | | - Arts and crafts project relating to story or play |
| way you will know who goes with who. There will | | | | a game. |
| be no chance of someone else taking a kid that | | | | - Have a prayer. |
| does not belong to him. | | | | - Snack time. |
| To start with, be sure and have small tables and | | | | Some ideas for stories would be Noah's Ark, the |
| chairs. Arrange the tables and chairs so that there | | | | story of Zacchaeus, Jesus Feeds the Five |
| is a place for them to move around. Get a nice | | | | Thousand, David and Goliath, and many others. |
| selection of Christian storybooks and art supplies. | | | | There are also some really nice stories for |
| Be sure and have some activities where the kids | | | | preschoolers that will teach about life's lessons. |
| can move around. | | | | There are stories about how to pray and how |
| You may want to get a soft mat or rug for | | | | God loves you. |
| them to sit on during Bible story time. Use the | | | | Starting a preschool Sunday school class can be a |
| tables for doing arts and crafts. | | | | lot of work, but it has wonderful rewards. You will |
| It is a good idea to get a felt storyboard to help | | | | be teaching young minds about God and Jesus in |
| teach your lessons. Preschooler love visuals. You | | | | a language that they can understand. |