Let's "Design" Our Children's Ministry for Children!

For the past couple days I've been talking about the "design" of our Children's Ministries; are the really "designed" for children or for adults? I've asked a few questions to help us see if our ministries are more adult-friendly or child-friendly so today I want to think about what we can do if our ministries are designed to serve adults more than children and how we can focus in on children. Consider the following . . . 

• Evaluate your curriculum; does it encourage teachers to use lecture as the primary way they teach the children or does it utilize a more active and engaging teaching model? If it is lecture-focused, find a new curriculum which engages children actively.
• Train your volunteers so they know how to use your (new) curriculum and teach in an active and engaging way. Let your teachers know you want the children taught in ways which engage them; not with lecture.
• Train your volunteers on classroom management along with age-level characteristics of children so they know what is normal child behavior and what they can expect a child to do. It will also help them to better understand how to work with the age of child they are working with in their classes.
• Require teachers to serve for at least a quarter at a time; preferably for the school year. I understand this can be difficult as so many people want to serve on a schedule which suits them, but if we are serving children and focused on helping children know and love God so they can walk with Him, it does truly matter if the teachers are able to build a real relationship with the children. This is difficult to do if they are only in the class one sunday a month. When volunteers serve for at least a quarter at a time, they are able to build a relationship because they are there. They become more committed to the class and the children as well.

These are just a few ideas of what you can do to focus your ministry on children and "design" it for children. What do you do to focus on and "design" your ministry for children?