4 Helpful Tips for Working with Ages 3-5 during VBS

In Proverbs 22:6, God gives us the charge to “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

As Vacation Bible School staff and volunteers, we are given the privilege of fulfilling this call, to help start off children in the way they should go. What better place to start than with 3-5 year olds?

Working with children aged 3-5 during VBS can be some of the most enriching and rewarding times for all involved. Although we are the ones teaching them, we will most likely be surprised at how God teaches us through them and their emerging childlike faith.

As Jesus taught in Matthew 18:3, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Although every age group has its own teaching privileges, unique challenges, and fun approaches, teaching the little ones who come to VBS with such open and receiving hearts to God’s truths, is a true blessing. There is incredible potential to influence and impact their lives with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

1. How to Make Lessons Engaging

As most of us know and understand, learning looks different at various times of our lives. Learning as a small child is unique and full of wonder; they seem to learn the most through touching, smelling, tasting, seeing, hearing, playing, and creating.

The following are five ways we as teachers can help to make lessons for children aged 3-5 more engaging, giving them the opportunity to learn and understand at their level.

Toddlers engage through touch, smell, and taste.

Although by this point, children have outgrown putting most things in their mouths, they still love the adventure of feeling new textures. So, in storytelling, bringing in items that go along with the Bible story helps to impress it upon their hearts.

Items as simple as bringing in fresh flowers to hold, smell, and see when talking about Creation, or smelling and touching straw with stories about animals, such as Noah’s ark. Why not pass around smooth stones when hearing the story of David and Goliath?

Toddlers like taste, too, so taking allergies into account, offer foods to go along with Bible stories. Something as simple as a small taste of juice in the story of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Canaan helps them to grasp and remember the lesson. Or share a loaf of bread to teach the story of the boy who brought two fishes and five loaves of bread to Jesus. All of this helps them to experience the story, and makes it more real to them.

Children learn through taste, and God encourages us, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:8).

Toddlers engage through hearing.

Of course, at this age, reading aloud is so important because most children aren’t reading yet. Scripture emphasizes the importance of faith coming through hearing. Romans 10:17 explains, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Little ears seem to hear everything and, like the children’s song goes, “O be careful little ears what you hear.” That is so important to keep in mind when working with this age group.

They are listening and hearing, even if at times it doesn’t seem like it, so it’s an incredible opportunity to share the Gospel and the love of God with them, and to see how He works through it in their lives.

Toddlers engage through play.

Because toddlers love to play, it’s easy to encourage and facilitate them to act out Bible stories, helping them to participate, enjoy, and understand the lessons at their level of understanding. Play is also key in helping them learn how to share, take turns, and handle emotions.

When telling Bible stories, ask them to help you tell them through dressing up and acting them out, bringing in items such as scarves, shawls, hats, dishes, and other props for them to use. Encourage them to dress up for the parts, asking for volunteers first. Then, as VBS progresses through the week, you can assign parts to those who may be too shy to volunteer.

As the teacher, be willing to dress up in Bible costumes to help teach the story and themes during the week. Children love it when we are willing to play along with them.

Most of all, make the acting and playing fun, because children in this age group love to have fun.

Toddlers engage through music.

Toddlers like to sing and express themselves, so teach songs that go along with the lessons. As well, consider bringing in little hand-held instruments like bells, tambourines, triangles, maracas, ukuleles, and more, letting little hands play along with the songs. It’s also a good way to teach sharing, taking turns, and patience.

You can also teach them hand motions to go along with the songs, such as “Deep and Wide,” “This Little Light of Mind,” and “I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy.” For songs that don’t have passed down traditional hand motions, let the children be creative and create their own motions to go along with the songs.

If there isn’t a song that specifically goes along with the lesson, ask the children to help compose a new song together, one telling the story of the day. Let them add lines and melody and sing it together as its being created.

Teach them how Psalm 96:1 urges us to “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.”

Consider playing music in the background when the children arrive for class and during activities. Bible songs can help set the mood and encourage joy.

Toddlers engage through creating with their hands.

Adding easy hands-on projects and crafts to lessons help children to learn as they create. Messy finger painting, tracing hands to create pictures, making cards to share with loved ones, and so on, are ways children learn to share stories and give to others.

It teaches them, too, what the Bible teaches about God, establishing the work of our hands. As Psalm 90:17 encourages, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us — yes, establish the work of our hands.”

1 Thessalonians 4:11 also encourages, “and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you.”

2. How to Grow an Understanding of God in Little Hearts

Children grow spiritually and develop an understanding of God in their little hearts by being taught the truth about Him and by others demonstrating His love for them through being kind, loving, gentle, giving, and generous.

So much of what children learn about God is lived out through other believers who demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. Little children are especially perceptive of this in the lives of those around them.

Galatians 5:22 describes these fruit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”

Helping little ones to grow and understand God’s love is most effective when it’s accompanied by them experiencing the fruit of the Spirit in those who are teaching them.

3. How to Pray with 3-5 Year Olds

Vacation Bible School offers a wonderful opportunity to teach children how to pray. It’s such a privilege and impacting time for both children and teachers.

Since young children learn by watching, doing, and being included, there are multiple ways to pray with them. The following are ways to pray with 3-5 year olds:

Open and close each class with prayer, teaching them how to be thankful to God for VBS and their time together as a group.

Teach a simple prayer that they pray together. Many of us grew up with “God is good, God is great, let us thank Him for our food,” and, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I should die before I wake, I pray my soul the Lord to take.”

It may seem ambitious at this age, but the Lord’s prayer is very teachable and will stay with them throughout their lives. 

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
(Matthew 6:9-13).

Let them participate by asking them if they have things they would like the class to pray about. Give them an opportunity to express their requests in their own words, being patient as they do.

Include each child by name in prayers, teaching them that prayer can be personal, between them and God.

Begin a prayer by asking if anyone would like to pray with you, taking turns, in their own words. Toddlers like to be included, so let them participate in prayer, whether you teach them a prayer to say all together or go around and let each one add to a prayer.

Ask children if anyone would like to volunteer to pray for the group and let them express themselves in their own words. Be supportive of their efforts, remembering to be patient in helping them learn to express themselves.

4. Practical Tips to Help with Anxiety and Maintain Safety

At this early age, some 3-5-year-olds may experience some separation anxiety being away from their parents and familiar setting, so we want to be as warm and inviting as possible.

It’s also wise to set a standard for how children are to treat each other in class. Explain how they aren’t to yell, call names, hit, or take away items from each other. Dealing with misunderstandings, jealousy, tiredness, and covetedness comes along with the age group.

Because toddlers have short attention spans, keeping lessons short, lively, and interactive helps them to stay focused and not lose interest in the stories. Also, setting up a routine helps to lower anxiety in children by letting know what to expect and what is coming next.

Likewise, children enjoy and learn by being involved in daily tasks, so let them help set up lessons when possible. They can help by straightening chairs, passing out papers, helping to clean up, and so on. This lessens the stress they may experience in a new setting.

Safety is also a concern. Make sure there aren’t unsafe areas in the classroom or outdoors, and teach children the safety rules up front about staying together and talking to the teacher if they need to use the restroom or aren’t feeling well.

Working with Ages 3-5 Blesses Our Lives

It’s never too early to start teaching children about God and His love for them. As noted earlier, we will not walk away empty but will find our faith encouraged and stretched through working with toddlers.

Also, how many of us remember songs we learned as young children? Songs like “Jesus Loves Me,” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World,” influenced our lives and deepened our growing faith in Christ.

There are so many stories about men and women who trace their faith back to early childhood and godly individuals who took the time to teach them, so that they might come to know God and grow up to serve Him.

Until eternity, we may never fully understand the deep impact we have made. Being taught God’s truth as young children has the potential to transform lives at an early age and set these children on the right path.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/FatCamera

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.