The Role of 5 Senses in Kids Ministry
- Eljoh Hartzer
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
God is not dull. Nothing about the Maker of the Universe, our loving Father, and our beautiful Savior is dull. So why, oh why, do we struggle so much to convey to kids just how amazing He is?
We sing that He's a good, good Father and a friend, but the God we teach them about is stripped of affection, creativity, and fun. Fun matters because children learn through play!
By incorporating sensory learning into our Kids Ministry teachings, we can help kids engage with a God who is tangible and real. Below, I will use the theme of The Days of Creation to illustrate how you can incorporate sensory learning in how you approach teaching Sunday School lessons that matter.
1: Seeing
Children are incredibly sensitive to visual stimuli. For a curriculum on Creation, I'd suggest decorating the space where you have your kids church with things like faux strings of plant leaves. Help the kids to see that the Bible is not just a few letters on a page.
This is especially beneficial for younger kids who might not yet understand, or if there's a language barrier. Put up a poster of the memory verse and use images to show different words.
2: Hearing
Yes, they hear the lesson and the Word, but what if there could be more? In a Creation series, why not play some nature background sounds like birds chirping or the ocean waves? Help kids understand that all of these sounds were surrounding God as He made the world.
You could also focus on the sense of hearing by teaching them a song about Creation. Sometimes, when I notice that the noise-level in the room is rising, I will play soft instrumental worship music. The mood shifts almost immediately.
3: Tasting
Most of the kids curricula out there are based on sight and sound. Why can't we include some other senses? Taste is an important one that we cannot miss.
It's common for Sunday School to include some sort of snack component - so why not make it intentional? If you are teaching about the day when God made animals, give a snack that has animals on it. Or if the lesson is about the ocean, give a snack that is blue. Furthermore, kids can taste literal things that God made, like wonderful fruit and vegetables.
4: Smelling
If you are teaching about Creation, why not bring in some of the wonderful smells God created? A simple example is to put a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers in the front and say: This is the kind of thing that God made!
When we teach about a Maker who created the whole wide world, it sounds BIG, unfathomable, and amazing. But also very distant. By bringing in some fresh, sweet-smelling blooms, children will get to encounter something of that Maker's heart.
5: Touching
God created using His hands. Children love fidgeting during lessons, and some actually really stress about school and kids church because they have to sit still and listen. Being overly strict in Sunday School reinforces the idea that God is strict and cold.
When teaching about Creation, why not bring in some clay or playdough? Say: Let's be like our Maker and shape a few things that He made. Read to them about how God scooped up soil and used it to shape the first man. Let the Word come alive to them.
Recap
By inviting kids to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch God - we can help them see faith as a living (alive and active) thing. I believe firmly that Kids ministry is not in any way less ministry than what is happening in Big church. Babies, toddlers, children, youth, tweens, and teens can experience God in real ways - Will you let them?
"In early childhood, play is literally a child’s job. It’s how they engage with and learn about the world around them, and they use their bodies in this learning. When you stimulate a child’s senses in play – touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight you take that learning, and their holistic development, to the next level." - Crawford International
Let me know what you think in the comments. Have you ever tried approaching Sunday School as a sensory experience?
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