30 Tips for Working with/Teaching Kids

1. You have to know it yourself before you can pass it on to someone else
2. Anything worth knowing is worth sharing with (teaching) someone else
3. Use props. They help you and the kids stay focused
4. Teaching is discovery. The teacher and student finding answers together
5. Being a teacher is so much more than just being a teacher. It is wearing all the hats needed to provide what is needed for the student
6. “They don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”
7. Teaching takes dedication and perseverance, without instant reward. They probably will never thank you—many of them don’t know how to put their gratitude into words yet
8. Teaching is a lifestyle. You can’t fake it for long
9. Teaching is mutual—a two way street. Be humble about giving and receiving
10. Teaching is an ART. Get trained and keep learning how to do it better (best training ever: Supercamp)
11. From Supercamp: a. Everything speaks b. Everything is on purpose c. Experience before label d. Acknowledge every effort and e. If it is worth doing, it is worth celebrating
12. Also from Supercamp: lesson plan should include EEL DR C: enroll, experience, label demonstrate, review, celebrate
13. Learn to use silence, to control your state, and the state of the room
14. Always remember: attention spans are basically one minute per year old (up to about 15-20). So if you have a room of 6 year olds, divide the content into 6 minute chunks and have state changes in between each chunk.
15. You, as the teacher, need to know the student well enough to connect learning content with their previous knowledge and schema, not leaving any gaps
16. Use music as much as possible, as a state change, as a dance break, as a come in/leave transition…
17. See the “10” in every child, even if they show up as a 2—you see potential
18. Make every child feel glad they came and that you care. You do not know what else is going on in their lives or if you will ever get the chance to teach them again
19. Know your objective for what you are teaching: what is the outcome you want, and how can you get there? Be direct
20. In the first 2 minutes, let the students know a. what you are going to share and b. why it is worth it for them to listen
21. I have something valuable to share, and I know it will make a difference in your life: that is why I am a teacher
22. Teacher rewards: that 2 minute (or so) window where the kids are actually looking at you and listening and you can see the wheels turning in their heads as they truly “get it.”
23. Sleep enough and take care of yourself. If Teacher ain’t happy, nobody (in the class) is happy
24. Be humble: if you mess up, apologize right there in front of the class. Vulnerability breeds vulnerability. If you don’t know the answer to something they ask—great! Then you get to find the answer together
25. Laugh a lot: learning is fun, remember?
26. “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
27. You get what you invest: be prepared, and include things to keep yourself interested as well
28. Look for the little victories and praise them: God is always working somewhere
29. When they fail don’t think it is final and when they succeed don’t think your job is done
30. Be real. They know the difference