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SSTN # 74- July 12, 2002
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
1) VBS food warning
2) "Dieting" survival kit idea
3) Teaching the Trinity
4) God made me special ideas?
5) Teaching the Trinity
---> Help SSTN.........
6) Bible Clues?
7) Recruiting children
8) Psalm 23 Activities
9) Christian Comic resource
10) SHIP SHAPES?
11) Psalm 23 ideas
12) Scavenger Hunt
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1) VBS food warning
I've noticed this year that a lot of the snack ideas for VBS include
peanut butter or peanuts. We have substituded something different for
those foods, because some children may be highly allergic to peanuts. We
do have the parents fill out a form, but just to be on the safe side we
have eliminated peanut products. - Carolyn
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2) "Dieting" survival kit idea
Hi, I have an idea for you ladies. I have small "emergency" kits I have
placed in a few strategic locations (the places I am tempted to overeat -
in my desk, next to the couch, in the car etc). In my emergency kit I
have 1 or 2 verses written on an index card. Verses that encourage a
healthy lifestyle such as "Your body is the temple..." and "Fruit of the
Spirit is...self-control" etc. Also I have written down a praise song
and/or a tape of songs. When I have finished going over those things I
pray for God's help in controlling my craving. I always keep fruit,
veggies or other healthy snacks around. Accountability is another key -
let people know what you are doing. Go walking with them instead of to
the coffee shop. Get plenty of fresh air and stop and smell the roses
once in a while. Soak up God's creation - it's rejuvenating!
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3) Teaching the Trinity
I have used a three leaf clover (from the yard) to teach about the
Trinity. The 3 leaves represents the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and the
whole clover represents God. Kathy
--from SSTN: many more "Trinity" ideas may be found in the Archives List:
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html
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4) God made me special ideas?
Dear Sarah, I heard about your website on the radio and signed up a month
or two ago. It's just great, with so many good ideas. I'm a new Sunday
School director and have recommended it to all my great teachers. Anyway
I have a topic that some of your readers may be able to help with;
Next year, our theme for Sunday School is going to be "God made me
special". We want to concentrate on each childs individual gifts and
talents and also how we can recognise them. At the end of the year we
would like to have a show to show off our gifts and talents. Have any
of your readers done this, and also does anyone have any good ideas for
Rally Day games, crafts, activities on this theme? Thanks, Linda
--from SSTN: Welcome aboard, Linda! You might try typing "Rally + Day"
into the Archives List search box:
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html
ysic, Sarah Keith <><
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5) Teaching the Trinity
The children did a simple activity at VBS to illustrate the Trinity.
You need three people. The first says "God the Father" and stands tall
with arms stretched above their head. The second says "God the Son"
and stands to the right of the first person, with both arms together at
shoulder height, but out to the right side. The third one says "God the
Holy Spirit" and stands to the left of the first person with arms
stretched out to the left. Together they make the cross. If you take
any one part away, the other two make no sense.
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Help SSTN.........
Just a buck-a-month will help to keep SSTN alive!
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6) Bible Clues?
We are closing our S.S. for 3 weeks during July and would like to do some
mailings to our high school class. I searched the website but couldn't
find anything that could be an ongoing "search" in the Bible for "clues"
to help them read a portion of the Bible and also look for a clue, answer
a question and mail it back to us with the ultimate goal being to find the
"treasure" and give us the answer the first Sunday they return. Any
ideas?
An eternity of thanks for all your efforts in sharing the Lord with Kids!
Candy Hall
--from SSTN: Using Bible Trivia cards for your questions might be a good
start. The kids would need Bibles with concordances to find the answers.
ysic, sarah <><
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7) Recruiting children
>Hi I have a problem! I am having trouble motivating my Sunday School
>teachers to grow their classes. I would like them to make visits and/or
>call prospects we have gotten over the past year through various events
Our church runs an awesome mid-week bible class called "Bravehearts for
Jesus" (sarah-don't worry, I am still going to get you those pictures one
day...we'll be doing year end soon, will be right after that!) We've
found
that the best way to grow your kids class is to teach the kids about
evangelism, so that they share God with their peers. It's a much more
effective way of bringing kids in than adults going to the kids. The new
kids coming in see how fired up their friends are, and suddenly God
becomes
cool...how many of our (adults) ideas go over like that with kids? Our
group has grown from 7 to 27 kids since September 2001 which I think is
Awesome! Glory be to God for inspiring these you hearts towards him!
We've even got some parents interested from their kids attendance, so the
rest of the church is growing as well. May you be blessed, and pray
continually for God to reveal His will so that you may follow!!
In much Christian Love, Kristine B
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8) Psalm 23 Activities
>I am in desperate need for an activity for kids ages 3-12. The lesson is
>Psalm 23. I do not need a craft idea just a Sunday school lesson, story,
>word search, puzzle, game, anything to help then remember the verse.
I did an AWESOME Psalm 23 lesson. I got the seed of the idea on a website
(sorry can't remember which one) that did a "sheep olympics" VBS, but did
come up with some of it with the Spirit's help. The gist of it was this:
We are all God's sheep, and he is our shepherd...we broke the Psalm down
into smaller chunks then did an activity for each...kind of like an
obstacle course. First, as each kid came downstairs, I drew a little cross
on his or her ear with a felt marker. Then once we were all seated I
explained how shepherds who keep real sheep place a mark their sheep's
ears so they can tell which ones belong to them, this is what the cross on
the kids ears represents, that they belong to God. God wants us to share
Him with others, so that even more people can know Him, so when people ask
about the mark, we should tell them about Jesus! This is a great intro to
encouraging evangelism in our youth. Then each kid got a "road map" a
coloring page I designed that had Psalm 23 printed along with some
appropriate pictures. Since I have a wide age group (3-10 yr olds) the
older kids job was to read out each part of the Psalm and then we followed
God's path. I had set up a course before hand, with different stations
for each part of the Psalm. Here is a basic outline:
Station 1: Everyone grab your bibles! The Lord gives us everything we
need, in His Book the Bible...we must take it with us wherever we go to
remember His Word, and to see where we should go next!
Station 2: Roll through the "Field of Green Grass" ( Green construction
paper stuck together or plastic garbage bag split down the middle)
Station 3: Dip your fingers into the bowl of "Quiet Waters" (Big bowl
with blue water in)
Station 4: Follow the "right path" (narrow path through some chairs or
other obstacles) singing a song of praise to God! (My God is so big)
Station 5: Run through the "darkest valley" (under a tarp strung over
some chairs) Remember God is with us wherever we are! (This one was the
kids favorite hands down!)
Station 6: Eat cheese & crackers at the feast prepared for us! While
kids
eat, dab the cinnamon Vaseline on their foreheads (anoint with oil) then
pour them cups that overflow! (over a bowl, of course!)
Station 7: Tie plastic cups or paper plates with "goodness" and "love"
written on them to the kids ankles, that way it will follow them all their
days (at least until class is over)
Station 8: Have a prayer of thanks for God's loving care and that we can
dwell in his house forever!
The kids LOVED this lesson, and really retained it well. There was a fair
amount of prep work involved, especially since we don't own our building,
but I got things ready the day before then just went about 30 mins early
and one of the brothers gave me a hand setting up. Even though this
lesson was done in early March the kids still talk about it. They played
with the obstacle course long after the lesson was over, some of the
parents even had to come down to get their kids to go home! I have the
lesson outline & coloring page saved, so if you would like to use it I
could email it to you. Just contact me at drkatz@telus.net and I'll send
it. Hope this helps,
in His Love, Kristine B.
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9) Christian Comic resource
I remember when I was a kid getting an Archie comic that was
Christian...had all the same characters, but they were busy converting,
evangelizing, and beating Satan instead of the usual teenage hijinks. All
I remember about getting was that I got it in a restaurant at a gas
station in on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. I was pretty young, and
haven't come across one since, but the publishing company might be a
resource for more of them. It was a good comic, especially if you
consider how clearly it stands out 18 years later! May your search be
blessed, in His Love, Kristine B
--from SSTN: there are more references in the Archives List. Check out
this issue: archive70_July02.html
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html
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10) SHIP SHAPES?
Hello. My Church is organising a Holiday Bible Club mid-August for
children aged 3-14 and we plan to use an old Scripture Union resource
called Ship Shapes. This is no longer listed on the SU website and we
wondered if anyone has any experience of it. Because we have such a wide
age difference we will have to split up into four groups and so will need
lots of activities. Can anyone help us out with some ideas for a
nautical theme? We would be very grateful.
Molly Vannan
Newington Presbyterian Church
Belfast-Northern Ireland
--from SSTN: check out the SOS Lessons on the Sermons page:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/sermons.html
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"Get em' in the LOOP!"
L-eading kids to Christ,
O-ffering advice
O-pen discussion forum
P-roviding free resources
Invite your friends, pastors, and coworkers
to join our discussion in SSTN.
http://www.christiancrafters.com/page3.html
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11) Psalm 23 ideas
> This summer I would like
> to start teaching them Psalm 23, any suggestions.
For Psalm 23 and other lessons about sheep / Good Shepherd, I love to have
the children make little lamb Christmas ornaments with the cornstarch
playdough (see recipe below). It dries really well, and the ornaments
last for years. To make the lambs, I leave the dough white (uncolored or
painted), and use a metal sheep cookie cutter, letting the kids roll their
dough about 1/4" thick. (Don't make it too thin!) You might want to let
each child make two ornaments, just in case one breaks a leg before it
gets home... A little gold cord or ribbon strung through a hole in the
top of the lamb's back works great for hanging on the tree. (Make the hole
with a SMALL drinking straw or coffee stirrer.) I use this ornament craft
idea all year long, with appropriate shapes for the Bible lesson.
Cornstarch Playdough recipe:
1 cup cornstarch, 2 cups baking soda, 1 1/4 cup cold water.
Combine in saucepan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring
until it has the texture of mashed potatoes. Do not overcook, as this
makes mixture crumbly. Remove from heat; knead when cool enough to
handle. This will air-dry and harden in about 48 hours (or less). You
may paint the shaped dough when completely dry -- tempera or acrylic
paints work best, but watercolor paint also works. To color dough before
molding, add candy coloring or food coloring (paste makes bolder colors)
to dough after it has been cooked.
Love your newsletter and website, Sarah!
Karen-MN
--from SSTN: thanks, Karen. There are more directions to make a lamb on
the Crafts page. It's listed under Christmas crafts:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/page6.html
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12) Scavenger Hunt
To K. Collins:
Try a signature scavenger hunt to test the kids' knowledge about their new
friends. Find out interesting facts(such as "Who has lived in 8 different
states?") about 12-18 kids ahead of time. Then compile a list of
questions with blank lines after each question. Have the kids find out
which kid matches which question, and have that child sign their name on
the line. You can award prizes for the first completed, etc. Have a great
cookout!
-Nora 3-K, OH
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2002 S.A. Keith--All Rights Reserved. ----
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