LIVING FAITH CHURCH, MAGBORO

CHILDREN CHURCH TEACHERS’ TRAINING

THEME: UNLEASHING THE TEACHER IN YOU
DATE: SATURDAY, AUGUST 24,2019
PRESENTED BY DCNS. JOKE ADEYEMI

Ways to Build Relationships with Kids

 Relationship building is the single most

important way you can impact a child’s life.

So often, kids actually can’t learn from someone

they can’t connect with.

 I’m also convinced that building a strong

relationship with a kid or young adult
diminishes a huge number of behavior
challenges.

Many times I worked with students who were

behavior problems in the classes of several
teachers. Those teachers would think I was crazy
when I would say, they worked great for me and
I’d even invited them to come to see those
students work in the resource room with me.

 It’s critical to work on building those

relationships early, because it gets harder
if a student acts out in a class first. At
that point, so often the teacher and student
are already not getting along. Resentment
builds and fixing that relationship becomes
more and more challenging.
It can be done, but it starts with us as the
adults. So, whether you are just starting the
school year or in the middle of one, use these
strategies to work on building and strengthening
your bonds with each of your students.

STRATEGY 1
Talk to them about non-school related subjects.

Ask about the local fair in town, how the pizza

at the new restaurant in town is, and even
debate what the best phone is at the moment.

STRATEGY 2
Let them teach you about their interests.

Letting kids teach their teacher can be very

Empowering for them. Create opportunity for them
to want to teach you even if it’s verbally.
Bring up a brief topic for discussion before the
main topic for the day. Find out what each
student is an expert in, and let them teach you.

STRATEGY 3
Remember things about their lives.

During a lesson, activity, discussion, or just

Interaction in the hall, bring up something that
you remember about that student. During break
hour, strike up a conversation about a students
on one on one basis. These small gestures remind
kids that you really know and care about them.
STRATEGY 4
Share about your own life.

This is one of the strongest ways to build

connections early on. Share about your family,
pets, vacations, and activities you do outside
of school.
This really helps kids to see you as a real
person. It’s important to keep boundaries, of
course, but a balance can and should be done.

STRATEGY 5
Engage in activities with them.

If you are after school and see kids practicing

basketball, Snake and Ladder, Monopoly, Chess,
Scrabble etc, join them and take part in it. It
does’t matter if you are not a basketball star.
Kids won’t care about that. Instead, they will
love that you joined in. Maybe they can even
give you tips about playing.
Check-in with students during art club or cheer
on a student at the track.
Note that you don’t have to stay the whole time
or dedicate yourself to leading one of these
activities. Just stopping in and showing you
care will help strengthen those relationships
over time.
STRATEGY 6
Tell hilarious (and even embarrassing) stories.

Sharing funny stories helps you show

vulnerability in front of your students. It
shows you are a real person.
The time I slid completely into a mud pile from
my arms all the way to my toes while I was in my
first pregnancy. These real-life stories are
great to bring up when you need to get kids’
attention or shift the energy in the room. And
trust me, kids will remember these!

STRATEGY 7
Share inspirational stories from your life.

Share with the children inspiring stories about

yourself. Stories like, how you sponsored
yourself to school when help was no forth coming
from anyone, how you trekked a long distance to
achieve a set goal, tell them how God also used
someone to help you rise etc.
These stories help kids see you as a
real person, but also remind kids that they,
too, can achieve their goals and dreams.

STRATEGY 8
Do crazy things.

Dont be afraid to do something different or wild

in the classroom to get kids attention! Stand on
a desk or chair while giving important
directions, sing a song about a lesson,
Most importantly, these experiences stand
out for the kids. You may just start with just
one thing outside your comfort zone!

STRATEGY 9
Use their interests in your lessons and
activities.

Sometimes this takes a little bit of planning

but can go a long way! If you’re studying
percentages in math, talk about the
Percentages of shots someone on a football team
makes. If you’re learning about energy in
Science, discuss the energy used in a race car.
And on and on like that. Think about things they
see often and can easily relate to.

STRATEGY 10
Apologize when you mess up. (My husband
apologized to his student)

Making mistakes does not make you a bad teacher.

It happens to everyone even the best and most
seasoned educators. We do need to own up to our
mistakes when we make them, though. Really
apologize when you make a mistake. For whatever
reason, sometimes adults don’t like to do this,
but it truly goes a long way in
Building trust in the children.

Thank you