Have you ever had your worship dance class turn to chaos?
Have you ever tried to teach a group of children who weren’t interested in what you had to share?
Have you ever wondered how experienced teachers seem to effortlessly engage children and hold their interest when it seems like a mystery to you?
Have you ever failed at something you thought you were good at?
I have all done each of those things recently. In this post, I’m going to share my experience and what I learned that is helping me move forward.
First, the background:
Because I’ve put my worship dance class lessons on paper and make them available to others, people think I’m an expert on working with children. Sometimes I start thinking this myself, which is, of course, dangerous. As it says in Proverbs 16:18, Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Let me tell you about my fall.
Just over a week ago, I had a class that brought me to my knees. I was ready to cry at the end of the day. You know how it is when someone asks you how your day went, and you feel a lump rise in your throat, tears pool in your eyes, and you know that if you tell the story, they will start streaming down your face? That is how it was for me.
I have the privilege of teaching two worship dance classes this fall, one to a group of four and five year olds and another to a group of first and second graders. I have been crazy busy this summer working administratively to prepare for the start of a wonderful homeschool co-op my children and I are part of. I let preparing for this class fall way down on my list of priorities. After all, I reasoned, I can teach worship dance to kids in my sleep, and these are only 40 minute classes. How hard could it be?
I found out on the first day of class. First of all, unlike other classes I’ve taught, this time I’ve got a group of children that are enrolled in classes all day. They don’t necessarily choose my class. It’s simply what is offered to them, if their parents want them to have a full day of classes (and they do because these mothers of young children love the break they get on this one day of classes). Eighty percent of the students are boys, and I get them at the very end of the day.
By the time they got to me, the children were tired of following directions. They were skeptical about worship dance, and they didn’t know me from Adam. I had their attention for the first ten minutes and then struggled to keep it for the next thirty.
When I told the children to sit in a circle, they sat in an odd shaped blob, pressing up against each other or giggling as they spread way out around the room. I asked them to kneel or sit and some of them started lying down!
I prayed, pulled out all my tricks, and anxiously watched the clock. It was painful and humiliating (another way of saying, it hurt my ego). But it also humbled me, which is, of course, the precursor to growth.
I gave myself the afternoon to just nurse my wounds. But over the next week, I reflected; I prayed; and I listened to the Lord and to others. I prepared differently for the next week. (It’s not that I hadn’t prepared for the first week. I did prepare. I had a plan. But I was not prepared. There is a difference.) I went into the second week of classes prepared with a new plan, and better prepared in my heart.
Here’s what I did differently:
I focused on building relationships and establishing order in the classroom, and I planned several short activities, including back up activities, in case my plan didn’t hold their interest.
To establish order in the classroom, I did two things that helped tremendously.
First, I created a routine by which the children were to come into the class. I asked them to leave all their belongings at the door and come sit in the circle. (The previous weeks they had their backpacks and lunch boxes next to them in the circle, a source of constant distraction.) I talked with them, listened to them, asked them to raise their hands to speak, and insisted that only one person speak at a time.
Second, and this is so simple it’s funny, but I purchased vinyl spot markers and placed them in a circle so that the children knew where to sit. It worked like magic. On the first day, one of the most frustrating things was that kids would sit in front of each other, or super close to each other and push each other, or they would spread way out, thinking it was funny. Without me saying exactly where and how to sit (criss cross on a spot, unless otherwise instructed), they could not, would not, have self control. Once the spots were out, they knew where to be. These spots were useful later, too, when I wanted the children to spread out around the room to learn a movement sequence.
To build relationships, I set aside time to listen to the children as they entered the room. Very young children love to share. They don’t want to listen to us unless they know we will listen to them. So, I took time to ask them how they were, to comment on their shirts, or shoes, or skirts, to notice them. I also planned for refreshments. These kids don’t really need food, but they need rest and fellowship by the end of the day. So, I set aside ten minutes to have some sparkling water together.
Lastly, I asked the Lord and my friends for creative and varied ideas for very young children. The Lord reminded me that kids love mysteries. So, I introduced my lesson about honor by pulling special objects out of a trunk one at a time and asking them if they could tell me what word all these objects reminded me of. They were captivated.
A friend suggested having them blow straws across the floor, as an activity. It reminded me of the scripture, Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Psalm 15:6 Before teaching them a short devotional dance, I had them blow straws across the floor. Then I told them that, since they could breath, they needed to be praising the Lord.
Another friend reminded me how tired they are at the end of the day. So, we took some time to lie on the floor and listen to a praise song. It provided quietness and rest that centered their hearts.
Lest you think I now think I’ve got this teaching worship dance to children thing down, I want to say I don’t. We never arrive. There is always something to learn. Unexpected events and circumstances pop up and challenge us.
For tomorrow, I’ve been listening and praying. I have a few creative ideas that I’m excited to try. I’ve got a couple of back up activities in my pocket. And I’m aware that I could have an amazing day or a tough day, but my heart is set on loving these children and finding ways to teach them to show love to the Lord.
Now I hope you’ll join the discussion. I’d love to hear from you. Please share in the comment section.
Have you had a time when you thought you were prepared but your plans completely flopped? How did you regroup?
If you teach children, what are some strategies you have learned to keep order and hold their interest?
If you teach boys, what kinds of activities do you do with them that you might not have had to use if you were just teaching girls?
Oh wow! This totally just happened to me at the last worship dance class that I taught to 3-5 year old girls! I also was humbled and am re-doing my plans and becoming better prepared for the next class. Thank you SO much for your simple and effective suggestions! I will listen well, love more freely, and stay calm! 🙂
I love that – listen well, love freely, and stay calm. That is a good rule of life for all situations. Thanks so much for reading and sharing.
Love this!! So good and great ideas. I taught a worship dance class 2 years ago that was all boys. And very active end of the day boys too. ;-). I found that if I emphasized the warrior/warfare aspect of our praise at times when they were especially squirrely it really brought them back to attention and they always rose up to the occasion. They liked the idea that they were real life warriors and that this whole worship dance thing was actually a deadly weapon against the enemy. 💪🏻 Since I knew I had all boys I centered my class around this aspect of worship dance and they LOVED IT!
That is so awesome, Barbi. Thank you for sharing that. Right. They don’t want to be beautiful, they want to be strong and powerful, and they are when they dance in worship with a sincere heart. You just gave me an idea for a lesson. Thank you!
You bet! 😃
Wow! I can totally relate! I know that feeling of wanting to cry because there is chaos in the room and your trying to teach. The spot markers are very helpful! I’ve noticed that giving them “free dance” opportunities seems to get their attention and serves as a motivator for listening to instruction as well.
Yes, we’ve been doing free dance as well. I felt like I had to teach them at least a little about the heart of worship before I could introduce free dance, though, you know? I wanted them to have some idea that free dance was meant to be worship. They are beginning to enter in. Thanks so much for sharing, Tanya.
Hi Amy, this article was so good. It reminded me of a class that I taught middle schooler’s earlier this summer. I too was prepared, but they had set in their minds that they were going to follow my structure. The Lord helped me and revealed to me to get up in front of the class… With everyone standing up. I put on the song, “Dance like David dance” on and just started simple movements that I was going to teach them for choreography but they had too much wiggles to listen. This strategy…It grab their attention really fast, It demonstrated to them what I would have taught them (if they had been still long enough for me to do it) and then while we were up, after the song, we held hands and made a circle and I put another song on., One that I knew very well, and I ministered it to them. After that,we sat there to start our lesson. At this point they were much more agreeable to listening to what I have to say. It was a little different from how I had planned it but it did establish order quickly enough to get control at the spur of the moment so that I could move forward with my plan with some dignity. It really through me but next time I will know what to do when you have young ones who are so necessarily interested, but need some priming and maybe pruning…lol.
Thank you for all you do
Beverly
I’m sorry for some mistakes in my post. I should have spelled checked, but I hope it’s clear enough that they did not want to follow structure, and that after I did the spontaneous movement with them to the song, I could finally get them to sit and then I ministered a dance to them, that the Lord blessed to really touch their hearts ♥️ which set the stage for me to lead them. Not giving them a lot of down time to think really kept them engaged for the spur of the moment, and shortening the class…all came together to help me with a group/situation like that.
Beverly
Oh, no need to apologize. I loved your post. What an awesome story. I love the flexibility and authority you taught with. I’m going to add your approach to my toolbox. It reminds me how powerful it can be for kids to see us minister through dance. And to minister to them is such a powerful way to prepare them to learn to minister to others. Thanks, Beverly!
Good afternoon Amy,
Wow Amy, these messages from yourself and these ladies is so inspiring and it encourages me that it can be done.
I am now a newly appointed leader in our dance ministry.
We used to have massive kiddies groups, but it all dwindled away as the years passed, each persons interests and priorities changed and the leadership changed in the ministry.
A few years ago, God tasked me to go back to the ministry to restore the order in the ministry, but as you all know God had me working on me and my order as well through praise & worship (how to enter into Gods presence).
I discovered this isn’t something you get taught when you give your heart to Jesus.
So the Spirit of God laid upon my heart back then (How can you take the congregation or person or people to a place you where you have never been before?) meaning have you accessed Gods presence, if not, how can you minister to others about Gods presence.
The dance ministry is starting from scratch and we have partnered with a worship leader, lead by the Holy Spirit that has been teaching on this subject as God has mandated her to prepare His people.
The ministry needs kids as well to continue when we are not able to, so what better place to start than our sunday school for them to cultivate a heart of a worshipper through movement.
I have been visiting our sunday school regularly to see what type of kids we have coming on a sunday and how to approach them as this is a daunting task, we must lead by example, be prepared, but most important God must lead and impart, just what you ladies are talking about.
Listening to you all and your encounters with kids, makes it now more “doable” if that is even a work.
So thank you for sharing freely of yourself, your expertise and experiences i appreciate.
Now my task is to consult God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for guidance and the blue-print how to turn their hearts to worship Him and impact these kids for His Kingdom.
Any more suggestions from yourselves will be highly appreciated. I am definitely using your examples
We as a dance ministry must also trust God to Get your book “And a child shall lead them”
PS!! My humble apology for writing a chapter.
God Bless you all.
Hi Colleen,
Thank you for sharing what God is doing in your life and how He is leading you in ministry. Praise God. And thank you for your encouragement. I highly encourage you to take a look at the online course. It contains the manual, And a Child Shall Lead Them – Ten Worship Dance Lessons for Children, which contains foundational lessons aimed at laying a biblical foundation for praise dance, establishing a heart of worship in the children, and giving them some practical tools and activities to get started. The course also will give you ideas and activities for teaching children who love to dance to truly worship when they dance. You can find it here:https://worshipdanceministries.com/online-children-worship-course/