Wide age range

How can I use the Children’s Ministry Teaching Programme in my church? We only have a few children and teach them all together, from 4 to 12.


It is always difficult to plan sessions for a wide age range of children – their physical abilities and levels of understanding will differ so much. It is often made harder by you not being sure whether you are going to get just one or half a dozen children on any Sunday – and if just one will it be the four- or the twelve-year old?

Preschoolers, and many children up to the age of 6 or 7, find it hard to join in the team activities that older children enjoy. Appoint at least one helper who has the responsibility to focus on the younger children and, if you have the space, you should allocate an area that is reserved for their use. Provide a few toys, books and activities that they can freely visit when the older children are playing team games or participating in reading/writing activities and which they can be taken to by a helper if they show signs of disruptiveness, tiredness or boredom with teaching that is beyond their comprehension.

With that provision, the KidZone material can be adapted to provide sessions for an age range from 4 through to 12 – I use it in my own church with a small group of 4 to 10 year olds. The key is to judge your success in being relevant to every child over a theme of six sessions, or even over a whole term, and not try (probably in vain) to be absolutely appropriate for every child every week. You will have to over-prepare if you are not certain which ages of children will be present each week – either two activities or a variation that can make one activity easier or harder as required.

Provide a KidZone Blue for the 4s-7s and a KidZone Gold for the 8s-12s. You may also want to purchase one Y-Zone Green. Although the session focus will be different, often the same Bible story is being covered as KidZone. You may find a word search or quiz that is an appropriate extension activity for the oldest members of your group.

If you will have the same children attending for a long period of time, after four years you will repeat sessions. Keep a note of the seasons you use and if there are seasons you don’t need as you go through the cycle the first time, make sure you use those second time round. If you are repeating sessions, don’t forget that the children will be four years older – and will have considerably matured in their dexterity for crafts, games etc., and in their mental and spiritual development and thus in the application they are able to take from the session. If you don’t have time to use all the activities in step 3, use alternatives the second time round. If the children do remember that you are repeating activities, use it in a positive way and draw attention to the fact that they have grown and think in different ways now. Point out how much more skilled they are at a craft or writing activity, how much more they can develop a role play or can think about the application etc.

Sue Price
Children’s Ministry Teaching Programme Editorial Director