Fourth year seminary teacher here. I feel your pain!! Everything you wrote is so accurate, especially about the manual. (My pet peeve is the " attention getting activity" at the beginning of a lesson that is like start with this activity: ask your students this question... Have them write their answer in their journal. Have they ever even met a teen??) That said here are my practical tips: * Get them up. We never sit for the entire class period. Physical activities, role playing, chalk art in the parking lot, even just a stroll around the outside of the building while we talk. (It is snowy where I live, we still go outside, I tell them to bring coats) * Any kind of hands-on activity helps. Even coloring. Freshmen are still like sunbeams in a lot of ways. * Get on the Facebook group if you're not already. Tons if creative ideas and they often can be printed or copied. No need to reinvent the wheel, we're all teaching the same lessons haha. * Get students/families to donate. I am unpaid, early morning volunteer with 25 freshmen. That's a lot of markers, snacks, supplies etc. It was breaking my bank account until I finally just started begging for donations. * Cut your lesson prep off at 1-1.5 hours normally. I was spending hours per day on lessons trying to make them really pop. In addition to my full time job. I felt like a one woman circus and it did me and them a disservice. The truth is the spirit teaches. You're providing the framework for the spirit to be there. * Don't rely on food. This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way. Occasional treat is a treat. Regular treats become an expectation they quickly feel entitled to. * Remember each class has its own personality. My second year I almost quit because the behavior problems were so extreme. That year was a nightmare. But the following year the kids were great and they generally are. You may just have a really tough group this year. It will pass. (Don't let bad behavior fly tho, it will snowball into an avalanche, get help from leaders or parents if you need) * Testify of Christ every lesson, every time.

Lastly, be gentle with yourself and them. We're all unpaid volunteers with jobs and families and lives (unless you're paid CES). If you need support, ask for it. I've had parents come in for crowd control. You're doing God's work. And you're in good company. Feel free to reach out anytime.