Whether you’re teaching a large group of children or your family around the table, if you are interacting with children on any level I believe these tips can help in engaging and keeping their attention.
1.Use your voice as a tool.
You can get louder or softer
You can make your pace faster or slow. way. down.
You can use accents (In our home, Cowgirl Catie somehow always makes math more fun 😉)
You can use two part attention-getters (The Adult says one word/phrase and the children reply with the other. Examples : Peanut Butter + Jelly, | “123, Eyes on Me” | “Pop Pop Pop, everyone stop”) These are extra great for large groups and if you google “classroom call backs” you’ll get a plethora of ideas. Teachers are so creative!
2. Use a “toy friend” to make the kid the expert
Pull in a stuffed animal or favorite character figurine to help with a lesson.
Ex: “Cinderella can you jump on the purple triangle on the page?” Or “Mr. Spidey, your spidey vehicle crashed and to get it fixed I need $10. Can you show me which bill you’d use?”
I’m a little embarrassed to share this in how corny it was, but one time on the fly, in desperatation, I put playdough on a plant pot, turned him into the professor, and somehow my children listened to EVERY WORD that “Mr. Plant” said the rest of the day.
We actually have a box we keep while home educating with whatever characters my children are into at the moment. And as needed, I let them pick a “friend” to join us to make things more engaging.
*Extra points if you interview or quiz a “friend” and have them get it wrong. The kids LOVE to giggle and correct them and then it makes the child the expert as they teach the “toy friend” in their own words.
3. Use concrete instructions for efficiency
If you can hold it in your hand, a child can hold it in their brain. Their brain thinks concretely until about the age of 10, when they start slowly understanding abstract concepts better. Therefore using abstract terms such as “there, love, time” are basically foreign words for children.
Instead of abstract phrases like “listen” or “let’s keep going” you can use concrete instructions such as “Touch your ears” or “we will stop after 3 more paragraphs.”
4. Remember the power of parables
We see Jesus, the master teacher, use parables constantly! There is a power with taking some relevant in a person’s world as you are teaching them a concept. You can make your own parables and examples as much as you’d like!
I have taught MANY a lessons, using Luke Skywalker to teach grammar, Laura Ingalls to teach manners, and Disney characters to make spiritual concepts relevant to children.
A little creativity goes a long way with children! If you feel like things are going in one ear and out the other, consider on of these ideas.
Cheering you on!
Abby
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