It’s funny how kids connect. If I’m sitting with a group of 5th grade boys, I might talk about my favorite video game. If I’m talking with 3rd grade girls, I might talk about… well, girly stuff. 🙂 When we show interest in the things that they’re interested in, it builds report. I’m not just saying that you learn a few lines or do a little “research” so you can be relatable. You actually need to know what you’re talking about, kids see through the fake.
Well, when communicating to over 400 kids during a week of camp, I kept thinking about what that kinds of things I could do to connect with the whole audience. For me it was simple. Titus. Titus is a really cute and outgoing three year old and he just happened to be at camp with me (even if he wasn’t there, I still could have used him). Kids love younger kids and they loved Titus. I talked about Titus quite a bit in my messages, telling them stories of things he does that relate to what I’m teaching. It stuck. I felt like every kid at camp came to talk to me about Titus and every kid wanted to give Titus high-fives and hugs. He was a camp rock start… and it helped me connect with all these kids.
I noticed how quickly these kids were connecting to my son, so I actually made this video to illustrate a point on my last night… and the kids went nuts! So, just an idea to throw out there. Do whatever you can to connect with your kids.
Great video! I use my kids all the time at church. My wife always brings him down to class after the service so most of the kids know him. He’s almost three and tends to take over a room when he walks in. When he goes to his older brother’s (17 yrs old) soccer games, he works his way up and down the line of parents like a seasoned politician.
He gets it natural though, his older brother (who’s now nine) was the same way. We use to call him the mascot of the soccer team. His older brother use to get upset because after the game all his buddies were more interested in playing with Jacob than talking about the game. When he was three or four the team his brother played for was called the Magic. He used to sit on the sidelines and yell “Go Maggots!”
See, you gave me an opening to talk about my kids, and I couldn’t resist. Take care.
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This will only work for so long…
I did this ALL the time with Ryan, but then he got older and started attending our events as an Elementary student. And now it’s almost totally forbidden. If I want to use a story of him, then I have to get permission and it usually involves me buying the story from him in cash or ice cream.
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Jonathan,
I love it. Ice Cream is the universal language in the pre-teen set. Jacob is nine now and actually helps out with some of the younger kids. He has always been my main source of stories (he just had that sort of personality). Of course now, his younger brother has a similar personality and supplies plenty of stories himself. Jacob had pretty much accepted that I am going to talk about it. He kind of enjoys it. I do avoid stuff that I think will be too embarrassing just out of respect. And, of course, when all else fails….ice cream. 🙂
.-= Wayne Stocks´s last blog ..CM TeleSummit – Finding and Keeping Volunteers – Jim Wideman =-.
God bless our families… at time they’ll think nothing is private.
Kenny, I can’t figure out if God CREATED my love for things kids are interested in OR I’m just a kid at heart (and guess I will be forever – as I’m pretty darned old now!).
I love teaching 5th grade – I love talking about Disney Channel, Disney Movies, Kid’s books, you name it….
I agree with you completely!
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