Excerpt from the book “Pais my lambs” (exhausted) by Wendy HANNA, with permission from the author.
| Physical: | Application to teaching: |
| He is very active in words and deeds. | Choose songs with gestures, mimic verses, play history. |
| He gets tired easily, he can’t sit too long without moving. | Offer a varied program of short activities, interspersed with quiet moments. |
| He began to develop his coordination and manual abilities. | Give activities at his level. Avoid, for the youngest, too detailed drawings and manual activities too precise. |
| Mental: | Application to teaching: |
| He is curious, eager to learn. | He enjoys hearing biblical stories and volunteers to learn verses by heart. |
| He needs a routine. | While keeping a structure, vary activities. |
| Its reading capacity is limited. | Make sure to use the writing characters he learns at school, avoid capital letters. |
| The notions of time and space are still unclear. The present above all is important. | Delete time details, dates and maps. |
| He needs help in making decisions. | He can make a real decision for Jesus. Make sure he doesn’t do it to follow others. |
| Its listening capacity is quite short. | Be aware of this by preparing the program. |
| Social: | Application to teaching: |
| He’s looking for friendships outside the family circle. | He needs to share with other children, to make friendships. |
| It seeks adult approval. He is sensitive to correction. | Discipline by rewarding his good behavior, by praising his good deeds. |
| He likes to help. | Offer them opportunities to help in the preparation or storage of the room. |
| He feels safer in small groups. | Know each child by name. Form small groups, at least for part of the program. |
| Spiritual: | Application to teaching: |
| He accepts God as his creator. | Give him opportunities to study nature, to thank God for all he has created. |
| He conceives only confusedly the notion of trinity. | For him, it is an object of faith rather than understanding. |
| He expects immediate and concrete answers to his prayers. | Teach him how God responds, that he can also say “no.” |
| He thinks in a concrete way; nevertheless, spiritual experiences are within his reach. | Avoid symbols: Jesus “at the door” of his heart, Jesus will make his heart “white” “black”, etc. |
| Biblical heroes are very much alive to him. | To carry the teaching on the great men of the Bible. |
| He may be aware of God’s presence. | He can praise the Lord and know him personally. |
| He’s very confident. | Teach him to put his trust in the Lord. |
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