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Are you looking for fun ideas to include every child in your small church’s holiday activities? Read on as teacher and behavior analyst, Holly, shares her thoughts on including every person by creating the perfect special needs Christmas activities.
The holidays are meant to be a time of joy for us all, so let’s include everyone!
If you are like most of us, your small church participates in fun Christmas activities all throughout the holiday season. And we are always looking for a way to include our children’s ministry in all the excitement! It can be challenging to find the perfect way to include the children with special needs who attend your ministry as well.
Children tend to avoid getting up in front of the whole church to perform or be the center of attention, and children with special needs may feel the same way! On the other hand, they may want to be involved in the children’s ministry performance, but they struggle to read or speak. Don’t worry –– everyone can be a part of the fun activities going on!
Think About Who Attends Your Children’s Ministry
Spend some time thinking about the child(ren) you want to help participate in holiday festivities. Doing this will help you know how to plan for your inclusive holiday activities.
- What are their strengths?
- Do they experience sensory issues?
- Think about what they do or tolerate well.
- In what areas would they need support?
- What do they want to do?
- How can you provide support to make that happen?
Don’t be afraid to reach out to the parents of children in order to get the information you need to make sure you are being inclusive throughout your planning process. Also, if you can, talk directly to the child you want to include and consider their thoughts!
Match Children’s Abilities And Desires With Opportunities
Once you have spent quality time thinking about the child’s abilities, how they would like to participate, and their support needs, consider what holiday traditions your small church has and see if you can match what the child would like to do with an upcoming opportunity.
3 Fun Ideas To Fit Children With Opportunities
- If you have a child who has a great memory, can recite scripture, and would like to be a part of the Christmas play, think about how they might be able to recite scripture about the nativity story in the play. (Try this Christmas idea if you have children who like to read: Easy Children’s Christmas Program: The Proclamations)
- For the child you are thinking about who loves to greet people, perhaps they could help usher visitors to their seats or welcome visitors to special services.
- If you know a child who loves to help, then maybe they can pass out gifts or even candy canes during Christmas celebrations.
Don’t Be Afraid To Get Creative!
Sometimes there aren’t traditional opportunities where one person’s gifts can shine, and we have to create our own. Think about the child’s abilities and how you can translate that into a holiday blessing for your small church. It might be beneficial to create a sensory-friendly environment for your kids to help them feel more at ease.
For example, one year I had a very anxious 1st grade child with Autism in my children’s ministry class. She struggles with new social interaction and could be easily overwhelmed by bright lights or noise. I knew that it would not be setting her up for success to plan a play or program for my class to do in front of the whole church!
Set Up Your Children For Success
I thought about how smart this child was, what a great memory she had, and how much she loved watching videos of herself.
That year I taught my class about the symbols of Christmas, using visuals of each one. For our contribution to the church Christmas service, I gave each child one of the pictures of the symbols of Christmas and videoed them telling what they learned about it. I paired up a friend with my kiddo with autism to help her know when to talk and where to look. We ended up with a precious video that included everyone and showed off my special needs child’s strengths. I was able to send the video to the parents to keep! Plus, my little girl was thrilled to see herself on the video.
This blog post gives a great hint in tip #1 when using music with a children’s production: 5 Easy Tips For Children’s Christmas Program Success In Your Small Church
Be sure to intentionally create a safe space for your kids. The goal is for them to have the best time celebrating Christmas, and for that to happen it just takes a little bit more intentionality.
Practice And Prepare For Good Results!
Whatever you decide, a great way to make sure things run smoothly is to do it in advance and schedule times to practice, practice, practice!
Furthermore, practicing can:
- Communicate expectations
- Increase skill ability
- Decrease anxiety
Practicing can reveal any issues that need to be addressed beforehand, thus reducing stress or overwhelm, and hopefully preventing sensory overload. Practice is just as important when trying to meet the needs of children as it is to those of us who are facilitating holiday-themed activities.
Another great idea for your practice times is to bring in a sensory bin for the kids to use. This could be used as a reward or even to help kids focus while they wait for their turn.
Plan Opportunities To Let Your Students Shine
What’s the takeaway? This time of year is full of so many different activities, and the great part about it is that anybody and everybody who wants to be included in special activities can be. If we take the time to get to know them and plan ahead, then we can create opportunities to let them shine. Stay small or go as big as they want — like inviting a person to help behind the scenes or take part in the play or service in front of everyone. Whatever you do, have ample time to practice in order to truly make it the most wonderful time of the year for everyone!
Need to brainstorm Find me in the Creative Solutions for Small Churches Facebook community!
Looking for a step-by-step guide to starting or restarting your children’s ministry?
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