Welcome Back to Sunday School
The start of a new Sunday School year can be an exciting time, but it can also be a little overwhelming – for students and teachers alike. Use these tips to reduce the stress and anxiety of a new Sunday School class and make everyone feel right at home.
Organize Your Space
In the weeks before Sunday School begins, take some time to organize your space. Go through your supply cabinet to see if you need any supplies such as paper, chalk, erasers, scissors or tissues and then organize the items with storage baskets. Do you have all of the furniture you need in your classroom? Arrange tables and chairs in a way that is convenient for you and also minimizes distractions such as windows or doors.
Have a kickoff party.
If your Sunday School organization isn’t having a larger back-to-Sunday School kickoff event, have your own kickoff party. It doesn’t need to be a big, elaborate event, just an informal get-together so that you can get to know your new students and they can get to know one another. Decorate with a few balloons and have cupcakes and drinks at your church, meet at the park for a walk or have a friendly softball game to help everyone get acquainted.
Break the Ice
If you weren’t able to have a class kickoff party (or even if you were), plan some time at the beginning of your first Sunday School class for an ice breaker activity. Children generally like to talk about themselves, so icebreakers are great ways to get to know one another. Here are a couple of ideas for activities:
• Colorful Facts:
Have everyone grab a handful of M&M’s® and then assign a different meaning to each color (for example, blue=family, green=school, yellow=friends). The number of M&M’s® each child has in their hands is the number of facts they have to tell about themselves, and the colors of the M&M’s® represent the kinds of facts they must volunteer. Once they’re finished, they get to eat the M&M’s®.
• Which One is True?:
Have each child tell three things about themselves – but one of them should not be true. Have the rest of the class try to determine which statement is false, either by having them guess or vote. The more outlandish the false statement is, the funnier the game is.
• Would You Rather:
Have students draw from a pile of cards you’ve prepared that have questions such as, “Would you rather eat ants or eat spiders?” All of the questions should be tough choices. It’s a lot of fun discovering what others will choose when faced with two tough choices.
Review Expectations
Reviewing the rules, boundaries and structure of the class at the beginning of the Sunday School year will eliminate confusion down the line and set the children up for a successful and happy Sunday School year.
With just a little preparation, you can make going back to Sunday School fun and easy for your students and yourself.
Inspire your students to learn about God! Read Inspiring Lesson Plans for Sunday School to find out how.
