Early Childhood Education

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Be Like Jesus Companion

Developing a Perserverant child

It’s important that we teach our children to have a “stick to it” attitude. Learning to “try, try, try again” will teach them to never give up and this will be important as they learn to follow Christ no matter what.

Bible Verses:

Romans 5:3-4 We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

1 Corinthians13:7 [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Perserverance — Birth-3

Perseverance means you stick to your job or task no matter how difficult. You keep going. Teaching babies perseverance can be fun and an important aspect of their later personal life skills.

Bible Stories

Read Luke 18:1-8. Share about the widow's persistence and how God is faithful to those who persevere.
Read Genesis 6:5-22. Share about Noah's persistence in buidling the ark despite the naysayers and the difficulty of the task.
Read Hebrews 12:1-11. Compare preparing for and running a long race to the preparation required to "run" for Jesus.

Family Connections

It’s important that we teach our children to have a “stick to it” attitude. Learning to “try, try, try again” will teach them to never give up and this will be important as they learn to follow Christ no matter what.

Have your very own family olympics (you may have to partner with other families). Divide up in teams and for at least a month prior to game day, train for the varying competitions. Make it fun and find unique sports or actiivties that make up your Olympics (i.e, broom hockey, slipper skating, etc).

Have each member of your family set a goal (goals should be challenging yet achievable). Then meet each week to encourage one another and to share your progress towards your goal. Plan a “We Did It” celebration.

A Girl Named Helen Keller, Margo Lundell

Amazing Grace, Mary Hoffman

I Believe in You, Marianne Richmond

Songs: Onward Christian Soldier, Climb Sunshine Mountain, When the Saints Go Marching In,  I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, I’m In the Lord’s Army, Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho,  Who Built the Ark, Strong Enough, Matthew West

Family Connections — Toddler

Learning to “try, try, try again” will teach them to never give up and this will be important as they learn to follow Christ no matter what.

BIG IDEA: PERSERVERANCE

Adventist History

James, Ellen and Joseph enjoyed reading their Bibles. Every time they read their Bibles together they learned more and more about God and Heaven. Learning more about God and Heaven made them happy. Each day, James, Ellen and Joseph persisted in reading and studying their Bibles. Some people told them to stop reading their Bibles; some people told them to stop telling others about what they were learning. James, Ellen and Joseph were too happy and too brave to stop reading their Bibles. By persevering, they learned about things that were true and good and they wanted to share this truth with other people. By persevering and not giving up, you, too, can learn many true and good things! Maybe you’ll even be able to share these truths with others, too!

Activities that enhance your child's perseverance

  • Provide the children with all of the necessary materials and tools needed to build a model of some sort (i.e, legos, model car, doll house, etc.). Allow them to build it once and experience the success. Then have them build it again, only this time remove a critical tool or component from the model. Inform them that we have a problem, as a major component is missing. Have them brainstorm ways to still complete the project. Maybe there are other items that could be substituted, or perhaps they can develop the model in a different way. Encourage them to not give up, to be creative, to work with one another, and then celebrate when they complete the project.