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SSTN # 80 - July 7, 2003


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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:


--> Enrich Your Teaching!

1) Fish Lesson
2) Missionettes?
3) Trailblazers
4) Humbly Grateful Song
5) Craft for Men's Ties...Harry Potter

--> "His Name Shall Be Called..."

6) Humbly Grateful Song
7) Men's Ties
8) Penpals Online Group
9) Clicker training
10) Extreme Games   

--> Buggie For Jesus - I'm A BEE-liever!

11) Street Talk for children   
12) African Religion   
13) African ideas and words   
14) African ideas
15) Spanking   


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1) Fish Lesson

Vanessa asked about ideas for fish lessons.  I will be teaching Jonah soon
and have had fun preparing a whale and Jonah.  I used a gallon jar, glued
a tail on the open end and made mouth and eyes on other end. I trimmed a
few fake leaves and glued inside for seaweed.

I hot glued a little figure of Jonah praying.  (I found a little boy's
hero figure with bendable joints, dressed him in Bible time clothes)  Then
I cut a little "door" in the side of the whale. The kids can open the door
and see Jonah.

A soda bottle could be used, and would be far easier to add a tail, but
the bottom of most bottles are not easy to make look like a fish mouth.
Still, kids would still get the idea. If you use a soda bottle, cut out a
portion of the bottom, glue on Jonah, then put it back in position and hot
glue in place.

Thanks for all the good ideas!
Helen Setser

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2) Missionettes?   

Hi,
I teach the STAR program of missionettes on wednesday nights with 3rd to
5th grade girls.  I just took over the program and was wanting to do the
sports lesson with the girls this summer and then end the program with
Bible Olymipic competiton between the missionettes and the royal rangers.
My problem is the leader before me lost the sports unit.  I was wondering
if anyone had a copy of the literature that I could purchase a copy of?
Or any lesson ideas that involve training for the game of life?
Thanks,
Marcie Wenzel
Catoosa, OK

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3) Trailblazers

Re. SSTN #75   

We used Trailblazers VBS and a few western ideas for our one
Day Kids-Kamp. Each child had to say a bible verse before could play game.
We put verses on a wooden stake - and if they could quote they only said
once - if had to read - must repeat twice. (You might have to help them)
but by the end of their game time - they can quote. Good way to learn and
not realize it.

Pan for Gold - use small stone (crush if necessary)
- spray paint them gold.
Make a sifter out of wood & screen - four small pieces of wood put
together in a square - then staple on the screen.
Use sand and hide your nuggets along with other stones.
We gave a small Styrofoam cup - to dip with - only two dips.

A man in our church made a horse out of wood - we put a saddle on
and let them lasso stick horses in the corral. Or could throw balls into a
barrel.

3-4 yr. old - we used a bale of hay - covered with a sheet - put a stick
horse on the front and let each one sit on and toss balls into a bucket
Also, had a stick horse race for the little ones.

We also had a hay ride - a man brought his tractor & trailer - he put hay
on the trailer and all had a chance to take a ride around the parking area
of the church.
Bean bag toss is a good one. Sack race is lots of fun for all.

We also take large cardboard boxes - refrigerator size and cut up and make
a maze.  This is a great hit. We bought western hats & bandanas for each
child this was a big thrill. I'll be glad to answer any questions

gshirly@bellsouth.net

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4) Humbly Grateful song

The song that comes to mind for your assembly,( Are We There Yet from
grumble to humble.) is  Humbly Grateful or Grumbly hateful. Check ouy" All
the Best songs for Kids "by Lillenes You might find it in another place
but this is the book I have..henneigh@aol.com

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5) Craft for men's ties...Harry Potter

I know that Christians have different attitudes towards the "Harry Potter
phenomena", but I came across this object lesson involving a tie that
helps us warn children about occult involvment, in a Kidsreach bulletin
( www.kidsreach.org.nz )

Maurice Sweetsur.

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--> "His Name Shall Be Called..."

The God of the Old and New Testament is known by many names. These names
help us to understand his nature and reputation. They define him as
Protector, Defender, Friend, Advisor, Judge, and Savior to name just a
few. The Third Commandment says, "Do Not Misuse God’s Name". "His Name
Shall Be Called..." contains fun crafts, games, and lessons to teach
respect and honor for God to the children in your ministry. Free USA
shipping!

To learn more, go to this page:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 
(you may need to copy and paste this address to your browser)


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6) Grumbly to Humbly

For the person looking for a song for grumbly to humbly following the
Lord,
I'd like to suggest "Humbly Grateful or Grumbly Hateful?" from Sing a Song
of Scripture from Lillenas Publishing Company.  The verses don't really
fit
with the stories you are using, but a little work on revising those texts
could make a song that really fits your needs.  There are a lot of other
good songs in that collection as well.
In Christ,    Karla

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7) Men's Ties   

There are a ton of things that you can do with old ties. Here are just a
few. Christmas tree skirt- you can take 38 ties that are approximately the
same length 18 inches works best and sew them together side by side into a
large circle, when you reach the end of the circle, do not sew numbers 37
and 38 together (so you have an open slit). For a unique pillow for a den
or bachelor pad (or anywhere else you can think of), take an old men's
shirt, and sew and stuff it into a pillow, complete with the sleeves, or
cut the sleeves off if you like, then tie an old tie in place on the shirt
for a very fun pillow. To make an easy snake, you need an old tie, some
stuffing, two googly eyes or black buttons, some tacky or hot glue and
some crafting wire, you can also use a metal hanger. The wire will allow
you to make the snake bendable, cut it two inches shorter than the length
of the tie, and put it inside of the tie. If you are making it for a
child, make sure that you sand down the edges, or put some extra stuffing
over the ends so no sharp edges poke through the finished snake. Fill the
tie with stuffing and either glue or sew the tail end closed...by the way,
the tail end should be the skinny end of the tie. Make sure to fill in the
point (head of the snake) with stuffing also, glue or sew the head shut,
and add googly eyes or buttons to the head for eyes. For a unique skirt
for a Halloween costume or every day wear, sew ties side by side just as
you did for the Christmas tree skirt, only once you have reached the
desired size, attach a zipper or buttons to the last tie, or you can leave
it round and add belt loops so that a standard belt can keep it closed,
you could even use Velcro for a quick closure. If you want even more
ideas, I know there is a book out, and all though I have not seen it, I am
sure Amazon or one of the other large online companies has it available.
The book is called Daddy's Ties, and the ISBN number is: 0801985218.
There's also a book called: Quilts from Neckties
by Sharon Newman, but I do not have the ISBN number on that one
unfortunately. Hope this helps.
Love in Christ, Sarah in California

--from SSTN: you can find these books by typing the titles into the
bookstore search box:  http://www.christiancrafters.com/bookstore.html


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8) Penpals Online Group

I am not sure if this will be of any help to anyone or not, but I thought
it was worth taking the time to post it just in case. So many different
people have made postings about penpals, and with everyone making those
one way posts, I bet making the actual penpal connections is going to get
a bit chaotic, if anyone initiates that second contact that is. One way
that I have seen many penpal connections made is through online groups
such as Yahoo or MSN Groups, it worked with some friends of mine for
elementary school classes, so I am sure it could work for Sunday School
classes as well, if someone is willing to put the time and effort into it.
What they did was established a group on MSN, and in the portion where you
could customize your member profiles, they filled it out to include things
such as church name, number of people or classes interested, and the age
range, and then they posted an e-mail address where they could be
contacted. The moderator of the group kept up with all the postings, and
when similiar postings matched up like the number of people interested and
the age groups, the moderator would contact both people and let them know
there was a match, the church address's were then disclosed to the
opposite churches, and the letters started pouring in. With the elementary
children, they pre-read the letters at a couple of the schools, to check
for improper material, as some of the teachers were concerned with privacy
of the students, as well as their safety. Some schools chose to address
letters back in forth to girl age 8 or boy age 11 and real names were
never disclosed, other schools choose to use pen names that represented
the childs interests like soccerlover, still others formed relationships
and exchanged letters, photos, and home addresses. For the safety of the
children, using the church address only is likely a very good idea, and
just be careful who you choose to give personal information out to. If
that get up and go person is out there, who wants to take on something
like this, I bet there are many who would benefit. Just a suggestion. Love
in Christ, Sarah in California

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9) Clicker training

>I wanted to respond to Stephanie in TN about Clicker Training since she
>said she would remove me from Sunday School for doing this!

Not exactly what I said.  I said I'd remove "my" child from a clicker
class.  She's in our 4 year old class. I did read your response and
thought about it a lot.  I still respectfully disagree.  It takes a
fraction longer to say "good job" than it does to give a click which
means the same thing.   Kids speak, animals don't so that's why
animals get a click in training.  I guess I don't understand why you
wouldn't want to take that extra fraction of a second to speak
positively to a child.  Clicking to a young child feels distant,
clinical and devoid of feeling to me.  I guess we have to agree to
disagree on this subject.

Blessings,
Stephanie

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10) Extreme Games   

At camp last year, a game was played that all the kids loved-Extreme
Frisbee. Same rules as football, you have to pass the Frisbee to teammates
until your team "throws it in" for a goal.  I will be praying that all
goes well and that your students learn the valuable lesson that God is
extremely important!

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Buggie For Jesus - I'm A BEE-liever!

Reproducible buggie crafts, games, lessons, and yummy devotions
to coordinate with your summertime programs or midweek classes.

In the Curriculum section: 
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 
(you may need to copy and paste this address to your browser)


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11) Street Talk for children   

One very effective way to reach "street kids" is mime.  The library has
books on it and would be helpful.  At camp last summer a mime team came
and ministered to the kids through music.  It was the most beautiful thing
I have seem in my life.  One of the songs they preformed to was "I Can
Only Imagine", there was not dry eye! All the kids (and adults!) were
mesmerized.  My prayers are with you!


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12) African Religion   

Have you thought of decorating the room in the colors of Africa? Using the
bright colors and African masks which are easy to make from paper mache or
clay that even the kids could help make. Additionally, a ton of
information on African Religion can be found at:
http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/ it will take you forever and a day (lol)
to navigate the entire site, but you should be able to find information
about just about everything that you are looking for about African
religion. Hope this helps, Love in Christ, Sarah in California

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13) African ideas and words   

To KR     Words in Swahili for the  the words   "Father Daddy"     I
believe is   "Bwana, Bwana"       Thank-you" is   "Asanta"   and Thank you
very much" is  "Asanta sana".      For decorations you might try the grass
like table skirts and place overhead.    Using an overhead projector
enlarge zebra, elephants, lions, etc onto large sheets of paper then draw
them out and paint them.   Lots of browns and tans.   The Maisi Warriors
use a lot of red.   This comes from the British heritage.   Tableclothes
would be good for this.   Good luck,  DAR


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14) African Ideas

Dear Sarah,
This is rather long. Perhap you would like to forward it to KR.

Dear KR,
I was born in Zimbabwe and as an adult had the joy of taking the Jesus
film to locations near the farm we lived on. We met many African
christians in the process and the one thing that stood out was how deep
their faith in the Lord is and how trusting...

--from SSTN: KR, To receive the rest of this email contact Gill Ball at:
joyismine@xtra.co.nz    

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15) Spanking   

I am the ss teacher who related the experience I had with one student and
spanking.  To summerize, I conferenced with the parents and we agreed that
I could administer a spanking (or a swat) when I felt that it was
necessary, which is all the time with this particular 6 year old.  He
totally disrupted every class and made it impossible to carry on,
frustrating me and the other children in the class.  After only two swats,
two Sundays, my problems are mostly solved and this child actually likes
me even more than before!  The frustrated parents are thrilled, since no
one else would take the time and effort to discipline this child, in love.

The reader wrote that she was appalled at my methods.  I can only refer
her to the Word of God which clearly states that physical discipline is
somethimes necessary.  The "rod" was not used to just gently "prod" sheep.
The Strong's concordance defines it as the Hebrew word Shebet:  a stick
(for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc)
Proverbs 23:13 states:  Withhold not correction from the child; for if
thou beatest him, he will not die.  Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and
shalt deliver his soul from hell.

I would never advocate this without parental co-operation; but this is
what GOD says, not me.  I feel it is unfair to totally discount spanking
as a tool of discipline altogether.  If the reader is appalled at my
methods, then she is equally appalled at God.  I feel I am in good
company.

Shirley
N. Georgia 6-9 year olds

   
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