Sometimes when you are leading a class, and particularly when you have a child or multiple children who are especially active, disruptive, prone to be sad or upset, or who have various challenges or special needs, things can get a little chaotic. Maybe you have a child who is reluctant to enter your group or for some reason gets upset or sad in the middle of your time together.
Here are some ideas that you can do with typically developing children and special needs children as well.
Remember, as you get to know the children in your group, you will understand which of these ideas would work best. Sometimes we have to experiment before we know.
We wish you lots of fun and peaceful times.
Bubbles – in Julie’s Pre-K world at church, this one is always a hit. Whether children are out of control and you want their attention or you have a child who is having trouble separating from mom and dad or who gets upset at some point in the group time, bubbles always bring a smile and usually get the children’s attention. We often will give the bubbles to a shy child, a sad child, or an upset child to be the one to blow the bubbles for the group. It usually only takes a few minutes and the children perk up and are ready to function in the group better.
Jumping Jacks and Dance Breaks – sometimes children have a little bit too much energy to settle into group activities. We have found that a quick time of jumping jacks or a dance break with some peppy music will get some of that extra energy out. At ministry and community events, we want to keep the atmosphere loving and happy.
There is a brain thing that happens when children are emotional or are struggling with behavior – the emotional side of the brain takes over and it is difficult to reason with them. If we take time to do some physical activities – we can get the reasoning side of the brain to work in tandem with those emotions and that often helps to settle the children. When we were teaching our children something that they just were not “getting” or wanted to be everywhere else but doing the chore or lesson at hand, we would say “time out for jumping jacks”. Depending on the age of the child and their ability, you can pick how many you want them to do. We usually asked for 10. By the time they were finished doing the jumping jacks, they were in a much better position to complete the task.
The other way that we helped our children to a happier place was to put on a CD and for one the duration of one of the songs, they would be encouraged to dance around the room. It is amazing the shift that takes place. A lot of the times we would join them in doing the jumping jacks or the dance break and it helped us to get in a better frame of mind also.
Sing a fun song – It is particularly helpful if there are motions to go along with the song.
Do a simple sequencing game. Here are some ideas:
Touch Commands: You say…
“Touch arm, leg”- they complete the command
“Touch arm, leg, head” – they complete this command
“Touch arm, leg, head, knee” – they complete this command
And so on.
Nouns or Objects
You shout out random objects in a sequence. Start small and add more to the level you think they can handle in the group. You say:
“Swing, boat, brush”
They say: “swing, boat, brush” (repeating what you say after you are finished, saying the objects in the order you gave it).
Action commands: (all pretend or pantomime)
For example:
Start with: “play guitar, sit down”
Add 1 more: “play guitar, sit down, stand up.”
Add another: “play guitar, sit down, stand up, catch a ball.”
You’ve got the idea. These activities work well for many children to regroup and refocus.
Much love, Tom and Julie Meekins
