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SSTN # 48 - May 27, 2005
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
The LORD Is My Shepherd...Bible Club
1) Preschool ideas for Paraguay? 2) Reward System 3) Joseph activities and games 4) Kids Out Of Control 5) Discipline a pet peeve
Summertime Fun Lessons
6) VBS Luau 7) Outside Children's Service? 8) Soakin' In De Sun 9) Wild Wednesdays - water games 10)
Playdough Technique 11) Luau Theme 12) Lord's Prayer With Colors 13) End of the Year? 14) Warm Blankets Orphan Care 15) God's Colors, Yellow
This five day VBS series can be expanded to 10-12 one hour sessions! A great resource for summer Bible clubs! Learn more in the VBS / Bible Club section at:
I am looking for ideas for use during a week long conference in Paraguay. I will be part of a team teaching children ages 2-6 during a missionary conference in Paraguay. The children will be split into two groups: 2-3's and 4-6's. We will have to prepare activities and lessons to accommodate five full days with snack, lunch, and dinner breaks some days going into the late evening. I have considered choosing a number of different themes, but haven't settled on one yet. What ever we do has to be done with either items we bring with us on the plane or use items that are already there. My understanding is that common craft items for us here in the states are hard to get there. If anyone has ideas on crafts, themes, games, activities etc, I would appreciate any input you can give. A number of these children have siblings and any themes addressing issues that come up with family would be useful too. The two large themes I had considered for the 4-6 age group were the Armor of God or The Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit seems harder to come up with simple craft ideas to use. Help!
>I'd like to do some sort of reward system. Perhaps >something with tickets. Where the kids can earn tickets each week and >"purchase" a prize. I've already started collecting prizes, but I'm not >sure what kinds of things I can have the kids do to earn tickets.
This message is in response to Elizabeth about a reward system. Here are some ideas for some things that you could award tickets for: Bringing your Bible to class; bringing a friend to class; remembering the Bible verse from the week before; Bible verse for the current week; answering questions correctly in the appropriate way (raising hand, being called on, giving answer); helping out in class (setting up snack, assisting the teacher, passing out papers, etc); random acts of kindness or demonstrating the Bible truth learned (being kind to others, playing nicely, helping new students adjust to the class,etc); or filling out weekly take home papers, Bible verse memory papers, or completely weekly activities. That's about all that comes to mind. Hope this helps! Love in Christ, Sarah
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3) Joseph activities and games
This message is for Angela in response for Joseph activities and games for toddlers. Mini coats of color - use a lunch size paper bag, and cut it like you would make a paper bag vest. Make the shape by cutting from the open edge to the bottom of the bag. Cut a circle on the bottom of the bag (where the child's head would go if you were using a standard paper grocery bag). On the sides of the bag cut two more circles near the bottom of the bag (which would be the armholes if you were making the large version. Decorate with markers, crayons, or paint and write the Bible verse across the front with a black permanent marker.
Coloring page ideas - Print out a coloring page of a coat (with no pattern on it) and provide one or more of the following options: multiple colors of tissue paper scraps, watercolors, color changing markers, fabric scraps, sand, fun foam scraps, buttons, or glitter. Give the children glue sticks, or a watered down solution of one part school glue to two parts water.
Construction paper or fun foam coat - Cut out a coat shape from a piece of construction paper or fun foam. Have the children glue on lace, pieces of material, buttons, and felt shapes to decorate the coat.
Make coats of many colors - Take a brown grocery bag and cut up the middle to the bottom flat part of the bag. Cut out a circle for the head and then cut 2 circles on the sides for the arms. Let the kids paint the coats with bright colors, decorate with fabric scraps, decorate with construction paper scraps, decorate with tissue paper scraps, decorate with glitter, or color with markers. You can also decorate these with crepe paper strips; they look pretty neat when painted though.
Hope something here is helpful! These are just a few of the many ideas on Joseph. Contact me if you need further information. Love in Christ, Sarah in California batraylover_23@earthlink.net
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4) Kids Out Of Control
This message is in response to Ann about kids being out of control. Chances are if the parents and the directors haven't been much help up until now, you probably will not get much help from them in the future. I have had experience with kids in my classroom who don't want to participate in the activities, but it is usually not an every week kind of thing (I teach pre-k). I will sometimes provide crayons and coloring pages that they can work on, or let them do their own thing as long as it does not interfere with the class. One of the things that you can try is when the child acts out, try telling them that is not the way that we behave in Sunday School and that is not how God would want us to behave. You would be amazed how many kids, and adults for that matter will "straighten up" with the reminder that God is watching them all the time. It is sort of like the same effect you get around kids who are trying to behave around Christmas because they think Santa Claus is watching them. I do not know how many adults you have in the classroom, but is there any way that the children can be given special attention? They may be acting out because they are craving attention, and if an adult sat down with them and took the time to give them the one on one attention they may straighten up. Another thing that may or may not work for you is to use the counting method. When I have a child acting out, I will stop whatever I am doing, even if it is mid-story and start counting slowly, the children know that if I get to ten they have to go sit in chair and think about what they are doing, sit on the bench for the first few minutes of play time, or whatever else might work for you. I have only had to use the counting method a couple of times, and usually before you hit ten, the child will correct the situation on their own. The BIGGEST thing that you can do is pray to God for wisdom about the situation. There might be something going on in the children's home lives, they may be going through a major adjustment, unfortunately as a Sunday school teacher, you don't always know the background of the children coming into the classroom, and sometimes it makes it difficult to deal with individual behavior problems. Ask God to reveal whatever the situation is to you and to give you patience to deal with the children during their "trying" times. You would be hard pressed to find a Sunday School teacher who hasn't dealt with a behavior issue at one time or another, hang in there, and most importantly, put the situation in Gods Hands and let Him take care of the rest. Hope this helps Love in Christ, Sarah in California
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5) Discipline a pet peeve
Discipline at the church and at home is a real "pet peeve" of mine. It seems to me that the Bible is very clear on this; not only is it right, but it is expected by the Lord! (Read PROVERBS 20:7,11;22:15,23:13;29:15) Yes, even spanking (at home) is correct when it is done PROPERLY and as an ultimate punishment in most cases. The problem is that most parents/teachers/authorities have not the slightest idea of what is appropriate, and really don't care what God has to say about it! There is a passage in Ephesians (6:4) that says not to provoke your children to anger---maybe this could be due to improper or complete lack of discipline. I have been in children's ministries for almost 30 years. Children have really come a long way----in the wrong direction---unfortunately many times led by "Christians" in homes and churches. We have children having children (notice I didn't say rearing children); parents who are more selfish than any child, thinking of themselves only. And mothers and fathers who refuse to take any responsibility for their children's actions or RE-actions! Yet these same parents/guardians expect the church (and schools, I might add) to correct their "mistakes" in the two hours (at most) that they have to train these children. AS A GENERAL RULE, I have found most children will do exactly what you expect them to do when you are in control. I AM NOT SAYING THAT YOU ARE A POOR TEACHER IF YOU HAVE AN UNRULY CHILD! They are simply exhibiting the behavior they have seen at home, and that is acceptable there; if we don't show them that it is not acceptable, they will assume we allow the same behavior too. Many times I have far more "problems" with children when the parents are present than when it is just the child, because the children are following only what they have observed at the home. DISCIPLINE DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN PUNISHMENT! The note from the lady regarding having a child "help teach" was great! Find the child's strengths and try to capitalize on them. Sometimes having one read a passage or act out a part with your help will encourage great class participation. Even using them as "teachers helpers", passing out pencils, etc, sometimes helps. I have used these many times. However, I must explain that I have NEVER sacrificed the entire class for one student. I assume that everyone visits their chidren in their homes; many problems are solved by knowing the background. After working with these troubled children 3-4 weeks, if there is no improvement then, yes, more corrective measures are called for: denying treats, participation in class rewards,etc. There have been two instances when I had to actually remove the child from the class in order to reach others who may never have accepted the Lord because of the disruptions. The devil will use any one or any thing to keep souls out of Heaven --- including children! If you expect and demand proper behavior, the children will exhibit it; this will eventually lead to POSITIVE PEER pressure in your class. Don't get me wrong---------I am NOT saying there is never disruption, even chaois in my classroom! But overall, whether I have 3 or 30---whether they are pre-schoolers or teens---basically I keep the same three rules: no "playing around" when an adult is teaching God's word, hands and all body parts to yourself, and respect for each other. This, with the word of God has been at the foundation of my teaching. A very wise man once said, "When people mess with God's word--changing it to suit their purposes--God will mess with their minds---making them unable to 'think straight'". This has been born out as the truth in many countries, and now seems to be showing up in our own. Just because "society" declares discipline is wrong, doesn't mean that GOD has done so! Thanks for your attention! gayle in amarillo
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Summertime Fun Lessons
What can bugs teach children about Jesus? More than you think! In "Buggie For Jesus - I'm a BEE-liever", children will learn important Bible truths using hands-on buggie crafts, games, lessons, and yummy devotions. Great for midweek or a refreshing change of pace during the Sunday School hour! Learn more in the Curriculum Creatives store at:
There is an great rotation model lesson from Cokesbury titled Breakfast on the Beach. It uses the story from John 21:1-15, where the risin Jesus meets the dixciples on the beach after fishing. It teaches we too can find the love of Jesus in ordinary things like walking, eating, and talking. We decorated for the beach and had a really great time. Becky
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7) Outside Children's Service?
Hi! I am new to this list and am looking for some help. I am the superintendant at our local Sunday School. We are planning an outdoor service that the children are going to lead. We have quite a few songs to sing, but I am not sure what to do in between the singing! It is quite a small group of children--about 12, ranging in ages from 3-8. Any helpful ideas would be awesome! TIA! Lori Ann, Watrous, Sk. Canada
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8) Soakin' In De Sun
Hi Anita!
We too are a small church, but have a ton more kids and lots of helpers. We did a Hawian theme a few years back and called is Soakin' In De Sun! We wrote a song, decorated with everybodies trees and greenery from their homes, put a grass hut around the drum sheild, all dressed in hawian shirts and big hats, and had an absolute blast! For the lessons, we talked about the fruits of de spirit. And demonstrated them all, plus thier opposites. You can e-mail me off list for more ideas. sharonvanwyk@hotmail.com
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9) Wild Wednesdays - water games
Here are some water games I've done with kids all the way through high school age. They should be done outside and the kids should know to wear clothes that can get wet.
Hot water pistol - played like hot potato but when the music stops the person who ends up with the water gun gets to squirt someone on either side of him/her before they are out.
Water relay - divide into even teams - ask for a volunteer from each team who doesn't mind getting really wet. You'll need 2 empty #10 cans for each team (a local school or other food service might supply you with these, I got mine from our church camp) or 2 plastic buckets of similar size per team. One styrafoam or paper cup per team. Have the teams stand in parallel lines with a can full of water at one end and an empty one at the other, the volunteer from the team sits in front of the empty bucket. Using the cup they are to scoop out the water and pass the cup to the end of the line and pour it into the empty bucket - normally the kids will be very sloppy doing this spilling water along the way - in this case you want to retain as much water as possible because as each team is successful at transfering their water their volunteer gets to dump the water on to one of the other teams volunteer who hasn't completed the task.
I purchased a water ballon bomb a few years ago at Target - its a plastic ball about the size of a small cantelope with lots of slot holes in it. It opens in half and you put a water balloon inside it and then turn the timer at the top - proceed to play hot potato with it. At some point the timer goes off and the balloon get popped - the person who gets exploded on is then out. When doing this it's important have balloons in buckets or bowl in several places around your circle so that the bomb can be refilled quickly - keeping up the pace of the game.
When doing water games one of the most important things is to remember is that you and the other adults will get very wet - the kids love to get you wet - this is part of the fun experience for them. Talk with your volunteers about this ahead of time, nothing spoils the fun faster then someone getting mad about getting wet. (And bring extra clothes and undies to change into if there isn't time to dry before you have to go home : )
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10) Playdough Technique
I tried something I have never done before and thought I would pass it along. I work with roughly 6 kids on Weds. nites ages 6-11. I gave each kid their own container of play dough and let them just play with it as I read over the next chapter of Judges about Samson. It kept their hands busy so they didn't wander off and mess with each other/things and sat and listened!!! After we discussed the story I asked each kid to make something specific that had to do with Samson. They could make anything at all, from any chapter we had read so far, but they had to keep it a secret. After they finished making their creations we tried to guess what everyone else had made and I asked questions like, why do ya'll think she made a pig...because samson's mother couldn't eat unclean food...this helped to reinforce elements of the story and it gave me an idea of their comprehension... for instance, i had one girl make a piece of pizza, her reasoning was samson's mom not eating "bad" food, so I had to remind her of what unclean "bad" food was, but in her defense that was the first nite she came to weds. nite church...all except one of my kids said they liked it and they would like to do it again...Maybe this might work for someone else also...
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11) Luau Theme
For this luau thing, you can always do a theme on creation and how God made everything. He loves all people and wants them in Heaven with Him. Nancy
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12) Lord's Prayer With Colors
I used the coloring pages from this site to teach the Lord's Prayer: http://www.teachustopray.com/ At rotation.org, you can find some great info. too. I hope this link will work: http://rotation.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/9626088121/m/4726088121/r/67260
88121#6726088121 About half way down the page are ideas to use colored candles or eggs. We did the same to make a necklace. Of course, it's easier to find the eggs around Easter.
Denise S. in PA
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13) End of Year?
Do you have any crafts, prayer services for the end of the school year...
Valerie Consolo-Ryman
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14) Warm Blankets Orphan Care
Warm Blankets Orphan Care is asking for people to become “Prayer Guardians.” It’s just a person signing up and then they’re given a specific orphan in a third-world country to pray for. It’s a great thing to do as a Sunday school class. The kids will realize that they can make a global impact just by praying. Either pray for the same child as a class or give each child a different orphan to pray for. This really enhances and shows the importance of prayer in each of the kid’s lives. All we need is an email address….and then you have the option, but Warm Blankets will send a picture of each orphan that your class if praying for and will give each kid in your class a “prayer bracelet” that the orphan have hand-made.
Here’s the link if you’re interested. Let me know or if you need any further information.
Theme~"Sunshine": Cut out a yellow circle (or use yellow paper plates) and some yellow triangles for each child. Help them glue the pieces together to form a big sunshine and draw on a smiley face!
Talk about how God made the sun and mention any of the following:
*the importance of keeping yourself safe in the sun (sunglasses, sunblock, hat, drink water, etc.) You could get each child a pair of yellow sunglasses or a sunvisor and let them decorate them with stickers
*the sun helps plants grow--you could talk about corn (which is yellow) and show an ear of corn, then show canned corn, then show popcorn. You could have the kids sit on a yellow sheet or table cloth on the floor and plug in a hot air popcorn popper and let the popcorn pop without a lid. Let the kids try and catch some popcorn in yellow cups or bowls. Play "Popcorn Praise"--have kids squat down and tell them that every time they think of something to thank God for they can pop up like popcorn and yell it out! It's really cool to see kids popping up everywhere shouting out "Mom!" "Dad!" "Toys!" etc. You could give them banana slices to go with their popcorn, too. You could even make the banana slices into sunglasses with some imagination and toothpicks, I'm sure!
*the sun provides light--make shadow pictures on the wall with your hands and a flashlight; Make simple suncatchers by cutting out circles of clear contact paper and letting kids sprinkle glitter on one, and then stick another circle of clear contact paper on top. Punch a hole and add yarn for hanging.
*the sun provides warmth--talk about summer and how the sun shines so brightly to make this season so warm. Show pictures of different types of clothing that you have cut from a magazine or other source and let the kids decide which articles can be worn in the summer time (include boots, mittens, hats, sandals, etc.)
For game time, play any games you like with soft yellow balls. You can use balloons, depending on the age of the kids. I wouldn't give balloons to kids under three without LOTS of supervision since they can bite the balloons and get pieces in their throats. Any yellow age-appropriate games would work, too. For example, you could play ring toss with an all yellow game you find at a Dollar Store, etc.
For music time, sing "You Are My Sunshine" or the song below I just wrote for you to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine:"
Who made the sunshine? (Hold hands palms up out from shoulders, as if shrugging shoulders to ask a question) God made the sunshine! (Point up) That yellow ball up in the sky! (Form a circle "ball" with your hands) He gave us sunlight (open and close fists quickly to make "flashes" of light) To makes our days bright-- (use hands to form circle "sunglasses" around eyes) We thank You, God (fold hands in prayer and bow head) For glad sunshine! (trace your smile with your pointer fingers, left to left and right to right)
There is also a cool Barney song called "Mr. Sun" that most kids this age are familiar with, and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" is another one I like.
Thanks for the colors idea, btw! I think it would be a neat idea for VBS or
a series of summer lessons! Would you mind if I use the idea on my church website?
Angie in WV <><
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