Be Aware of Hidden Disabilities
As you evaluate kids’ strengths and weaknesses, Charla reminds you to be aware of hidden or invisible disabilities, such as dyslexia, autism, and ADHD. You might even ask caregivers to fill out a questionnaire asking for input on kids’ strengths, weaknesses, gifts, and talents.
Understanding these gifts can help you spend more time on activities that work well with your kids’ needs, and to highlight kids who excel at a specific task or skill.
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Letting kids have choice also helps everyone contribute and belong. For example, a Group curriculum lesson might form groups and let kids within a group choose who will be the scribe, the actor, the illustrator, and so on. Or you might invite kids to express their thoughts by writing or drawing. (All Together Sunday School lessons include choosing roles each week!)
When kids can choose their roles, they all shine! This helps kids of all abilities feel valued because we all have different ways of thinking and different areas in which we excel. But it especially helps kids with disabilities feel like they can showcase what they’re best at, rather than being highlighted for what they struggle with.
3. Use Movement To Promote Inclusivity in Children’s Ministry
In Group’s Sunday School curriculum, it’s pretty rare to have kids just sitting still and listening! Movement is key for learning in kids of all abilities! For example, kids might journey into a fish-tent to learn about Jonah, march around the walls of Jericho, or throw balls at a target as they experience the story of David and Goliath.
Charla notes, “Kids are made to move, and they will learn best if their brain and body is ready to learn.”
“Movement is regulating to the body and brain,” she says, “and a person cannot learn well when dysregulated. Research shows movement with learning is a very effective way for people of all abilities to learn.”
4. Provide Multiple Ways To Learn and Express Learning
Some Group curriculum, such as Simply Loved and Hands-On Bible Curriculum, involves station options. This could be a sensory bin, a craft, a picture book, or so on. Charla notes that The Action Bible, being fully graphic, is a great resource for kids to browse through on their own.
Rather than just choosing one station, set them all up! This gives kids a choice to learn and express learning in a way that best fits them! Disabilities aside, there’s no one “right” way to learn. Kids express learning in different ways, so this benefits all your kids!
Likewise, take advantage of the way the Bible story is taught differently. In some lessons, the Bible experience might be musically bent, in another it might involve drawing, and in another it could be very active! Letting kids choose from among these types of options helps kids of all abilities feel like they can participate and contribute. This will ensure you’re meeting a variety of ways kids learn and excel.
