Ideas from the field…
Did you encounter a situation in front of the kindergarten class or the children’s class in the lower grades of elementary school, that you simply could not get the children’s attention without raising your voice? They had “ants in their pants”, and they just wanted to talk to their friends? I learned a song from my first-grade teacher, and when I taught the song to the children at the church, I found out that they too knew it very well, but in a slightly different way. The end of the song, as the first-grade teacher taught us, helps calm the children and bring them very gently to concentration without raising the voice:
Lift up your hands so that all can see,
Now on your shoulders, one two or three.
Lift up your hands so that all can see,
On your shoulders, now fold your hands before you.
There are many songs like this one that can be found on YouTube. By using the melody and altering the words slightly as above, you can use it to bring about a state of quietness in the classroom.
We all know the clapping game, Kwa Kwa, De La Oma, right? Some children have invented a new, messianic version:
Kwa Kwa, De La Oma
Kwa Kwa Kwa
Desi Matrico
Your father is a pastor
Your mother teaches children
And you are helping the poor.
And no, and yes, help the poor man, Amen.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
This is a wonderful game to play to learn verses by heart. Either you replace the lyrics with the words of the verse, or at the end of each time you play it, you say the memory verse and delete one of its words that are written on the board, or you replace the numbers at the end with the words of the verse.
Personal attention to each child is very important. Here is a song that you can sing to the kindergarten children at the beginning of each lesson to greet them in person:
Hello, Hello
Hello to you,
Hello to you,
Hello to you, hello.
And how are you?
And how are you?
And how you are today?
I’m very happy to meet you.
I’m very happy to tell you,
Hello to you,
Hello to you,
Hello to you, hello.
Good morning to _____
You pass from child to child and you say good morning to him by name, while touching him lightly on the knee or shoulder. The child needs to respond with “Good morning”. You can also greet the helpers in the class. After saying good morning to all the children, say together in a loud voice: “Good morning!”
Songs like the above can also be found on YouTube. Note that at the end of the song we added a personal “Good Morning” blessing to each child.
How are you going to get the attention of the noisy kids without yelling? Place a finger on your lips as a sign for silence, and lift up your other hand. All the children should imitate you.