{"id":253,"date":"2015-04-20T17:53:28","date_gmt":"2015-04-20T17:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/?p=253"},"modified":"2015-05-20T13:55:35","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T19:55:35","slug":"a-proven-way-to-knowing-kids-ask-the-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/a-proven-way-to-knowing-kids-ask-the-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Use This Proven Way to Get to Know Kids Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently a Denver teacher wanted to get to know her students better, so she asked kids to complete the sentence, \u201cI wish my teacher knew\u2026\u201d<\/a> Teacher Kyle Schwartz was touched at what she read\u2014so touched that she began posting the letters (without kids\u2019 names) on Twitter with the hashtag: #IWishMyTeacherKnew.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish my teacher knew I don\u2019t have pencils at home to do my homework.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish my teacher knew sometimes my reading log is not signed because my mom is not around a lot.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish my teacher knew that I want to go to college.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

#IWishMyTeacherKnew Tweets<\/a><\/p>\n

Like so many people who love kids, these notes moved me\u2026and reminded me of the critical importance of face-to-face discussions with kids. This teacher\u2014who spends nearly 8 hours a day with kids in her class\u2014felt like she didn\u2019t know her students well!<\/p>\n

Wow. If a third-grade teacher doesn\u2019t feel like she knows her students, after spending months <\/em>with them, how well are you <\/em>getting to know the kids at your VBS (and in your community) during a few hours of VBS?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Don\u2019t Skimp on the Small Group Discussions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In Group\u2019s VBS<\/a>, we build in conversations with open-ended questions like, \u201cTell me about something that scares you,\u201d \u00a0\u201cWhen have you <\/em>needed courage?\u201d or \u201cWho makes you smile?\u201d Because we field-test every aspect and every question with kids, we get to watch astounding transformation within crews, as kids and leaders huddle together to talk about things like this. Those conversations aren\u2019t filler. They\u2019re not fluff. They\u2019re not \u201cBible-light.\u201d They give caring Christian leaders insight into a kid\u2019s world. Into a child\u2019s heart. As you reach kids with VBS this summer, don\u2019t skimp on the small group discussions. <\/em>In an effort to pack in more games, a craft, or a goofy skit\u2026don\u2019t forget the importance of face-to-face, someone-really-cares conversation. Ask the questions\u2026then listen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It matters.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to hear how you\u2019re <\/em>getting to know the kids in your ministry. What are some of your success stories, insights, and \u201cah-ha\u201d moments? Let us know in the comment section below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently a Denver teacher wanted to get to know her students better, so she asked kids to complete the sentence, \u201cI wish my teacher knew\u2026\u201d Teacher Kyle Schwartz was touched at what she read\u2014so touched that she began posting the letters (without kids\u2019 names) on with the hashtag: #IWishMyTeacherKnew. \u201cI wish my teacher knew I don\u2019t have pencils at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vbs"],"yoast_head":"\nUse This Proven Way to Get to Know Kids Better - Group Children's Ministry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recently a Denver teacher wanted to get to know her students better, so she asked kids to complete the sentence, \u201cI wish my teacher knew\u2026\u201d Teacher Kyle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/a-proven-way-to-knowing-kids-ask-the-questions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Know Your Students Better by Asking the Right Questions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Use this tip during your VBS small group discussions to make a deeper connection with your kids.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/a-proven-way-to-knowing-kids-ask-the-questions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Group Children's Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GroupChildrensMinistry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-20T17:53:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-20T19:55:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/04\/Get-to-Know-Kids-OpenGraph.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jody Brolsma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Know Your Students Better by Asking the Right Questions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Use this tip during your VBS small group discussions to make a deeper connection with your kids.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/04\/Get-to-Know-Kids-Twitter.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@groupkidmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@groupkidmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jody Brolsma\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/a-proven-way-to-knowing-kids-ask-the-questions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/vbs\/a-proven-way-to-knowing-kids-ask-the-questions\/\",\"name\":\"Use This Proven Way to Get to Know Kids Better - 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