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SSTN - Number 245
November 12, 2001
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
1) Ideas for senior high class?
2) Angels costumes
3) Thanksgiving Skit
4) Ways to Encourage
5) Angel Costumes
6) Mixed Ages
7) Thanksgiving Skit
8) Children's Church
9) SSTN Archive Questions?
10) Angel Costumes
11) Resources to fund Sunday School Activities
12) Children's Ministry Course
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1) Ideas for senior high class?
Help I need some ideas for our senior high class after the Christmas
holidays have passed to keep their interest. They really like to do
puzzles and activities that involve using their bibles to find answer. I
have printed numerous puzzles but now I am running out of ideas...Please
anyone who teaches this age group.....We have lost several
students due to boredom with the material we have and we have tried 3
different teachers each who are wonderful and all have different methods
of
teaching Please help before we loose all kids in senior high class .
--from SSTN: please share with us the ideas you have used and are
successful! This is such a need for our network! Sarah.
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KIDS CAN @ CHRISTMAS TIME
An Advent celebration of 28 crafts and recipes. Some of the projects
include: Epiphany Ornaments (a six-sided three dimensional ornament
inspired from the Orient), Ribbon Stars, a Paper Lace Angel, Paper Lace
Luminaries, a Nativity Windsock, a Chrismon Snowflake Butterfly (new
design), an Edible Nativity, Church Window Cookies, and the Jesus in the
Manger cupcake, to name just a few! To learn more, click the link or copy
and paste it to your browser:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/crafts_Christmas_Advent.html
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2) Angels costumes
I have a kids club and concerning angels costumes, the cheapest way is to
take a white mattress cover put it around the neck like a scarf,both ends
hanging in front.tie a handmade gold belt around the waist and just pull
the material from the shoulder down to the waist to make an angel
costume.pin the ends together.
love in christ,
stella
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3) Thanksgiving Skit
Found Thanksgiving Skit in Archives for 17 year old Sunday School teacher,
Rachelle
The "Squanto--God's Special Indian" story is found at :
http://www.joyfulheart.com/holiday/squanto.htm
Another easy but very visual thing that can help kids understand the
story of Thanksgiving is a half-hour cartoon video by Nest Entertainment
called "William Bradford & the First Thanksgiving." It's a good-quality
cartoon that will hold the attention of kids about age 5 to 12. I found
it at a local library, but if you order it (www.nestfamily.com) it comes
with an activity book with xeroxable activities for 8 year olds as well
as coloring pages that match the video for any age.
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4) Ways to Encourage
To Betty Crane, I agree, there is a better way besides candy. . .
Dear Readers,
Until recently, I was a believer in rewards systems for Bible learning. I
have changed my mind on the issue based in part on a chapter in "The Dirt
on Learning" by Thom and Joanie Schultz, Group Publishing. The book is
based on the parable of the sower. In one chapter, the authors emphasize
the difference between extrinsic (bribes/rewards) and intrinsic
(self-motivated) learning. They remind us that Jesus did not use bribes
or lure with goodies, yet people throughout the ages have been motivated
to transform their lives. Bribes, rewards and competition result in short
term learning. Remember Mark 4:19, "the cares of the world, and the lure
of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and
it yields nothing." Please share your thoughts.
Eva, Philadelphia, PA
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5) Angel Costumes
For our angel costumes we used white sheets and made them into gowns, (go
to a thrift store or sometimes you can go to your hospital and ask for
there old white sheets). And for the halo's we used gold or silver
garland and measured it around there forehead.
Agnes
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6) Mixed Ages
>>Hi everyone! I am 17 years old, and I just I don't want lessons
>> that will bore older children, or
Hi, Rachele. I can definitely empathize with your job. I am 15 and I teach
ages 3-9. I'm not teaching right now, because we alternate. It can be
difficult to try and keep all of the kids attention. I find that it's best
to do the lesson at an older level. The younger kids don't mind, but if it
was the other way around, the older ones would definitely mind. I try to
present my lesson without reading it, attention drifts easier when the
teacher is reading the story. Also, voice inflection and hand movements
keep kids of all ages interested. Have them say a key word, yell, whistle,
wave their hands, etc when you say a certain word, or hold up a sign.
Also, visual illutrations help, such as experiments, relating it to
something they can SEE. Those types of things stick in their minds
forever.Repition is another thing that is good to use. You repeat a key
phrase every Sunday for several weeks and then they don't forget it
easily. Another thing to do is to have the kids involved in the story.
Have the older kids read a scripture or two, have the younger kids stand
beside you and hold something having to do with your lesson. We have also
acted out the story and the kids all love that. I find that the older kids
are willing for the most part to help the younger ones and sometimes you
can double up parts that way. Involve the kids in the story...ask them
questions about what they think. You may not be able to understand the
three year old, but he will most likely have plenty to say and feel
important because of it. And most of all, don't feel discouraged if they
don't seem to be getting anything. You are planting seeds in a little
one's mind that they will not forget.
Kari
1st UPC-Trinidad CO
Ages 3-9
--from SSTN: Kari and Rachele, you are a blessing to SSTN and to the
Church! ysic, sarah <><
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Make a Christ-Tree for Christmas!
Bring new meaning to your Christmas celebrations with Chrismon Snowflake
Ornaments. The book contains 32 faith designs to decorate your Christmas
tree! To see a video of the Angel Snowflake being cut, go to:
http://www.ChristianCrafters.Com/page2.html
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7) Thanksgiving Skit
With the wide range of abilities of your kids try object lessons and a
memory verse that goes along with the lesson. Go to a Bible book store
and ask about object lesson books, usually there are a variety of topics
to choose from. You can possibly choose one of the Scriptures used in the
lesson as the memory verse. There are many children's music tapes out
there, such as "Kids Sing Praise" tapes/CDs. Many of the songs on the
tapes are actually Scripture! Maybe that would help the kids memorize
verses. This will take more time and research for you, but you will be
learning quiet a lot, too!
Angelia Fenstermaker
Dobson, NC
--from SSTN: try our Bookstore:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/bookstore.html
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8) Children's Church
>Maybe you could provide me with some articles that your church
>printed out in the magazine, newsletter, bulletins.
I would love to share the newsletter articles, brochures, and bulletins
that we use to help and encourage parents to bring children to worship.
Please give Sarah your name and address, and I will respond. We
currently subscribe to Children's Worship Bulletins, published by
Communication Resources, www.ComResources.com , and we use them to
produce our weekly children's bulletins, though we add our own order of
worship. I have also asked parents who are committed to and comfortable
with bringing their children to worship to write articles for our
monthly Children's Ministries newsletter, KidsPress. One of our parents
comes in weekly and stocks children's activity bags, containing blank
paper & Christian coloring sheets on a clipboard, along with crayons,
and these are hung on a rack near the door so that children may take
them as they enter the sanctuary. I must say am curious to know what the
parents in your church are doing while their children are running around
and disturbing all the adults during worship, as you mentioned. Perhaps
it
would be helpful to have a parents' meeting and educate them about the
importance of teaching their children to be respectful and courteous
while others are listening in a group meeting, and to ask for their help
in making the worship experience meaningful for all. Bless you for
wanting to be a part of the solution, and best wishes in your endeavor!
Kit MacLeod, Director of Children's Ministries,
First Presbyterian Church, North Palm Beach, FL
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9) SSTN Archive Questions?
I was looking at some archived issues where a question is asked and I
would
love to know what responses were given. The responses are not in that
newsletter. Where can I go to find the responses to a person's questions?
Thanks, Ron Myers
--from SSTN: good question! When you search through the Archives and you
find a question, usually the answer(s) will follow in the next few issues.
For example, if the issue you initailly read is #122, you would look
through issues #123-#133 to see what answer(s) were posted.
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html
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Make a Christ-Tree for Christmas!
Bring new meaning to your Christmas celebrations with Chrismon Snowflake
Ornaments. The book contains 32 faith designs to decorate your Christmas
tree! To see a video of the Angel Snowflake being cut, go to:
http://www.ChristianCrafters.Com/page2.html
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10) Angel Costumes
Our church made angel costumes for a Christmas play for the children at
our church. we purchased plain white cloth and just made robes out of
that, then around the neck, sleeve cuffs, and around the bottom of the
dress we hot glued gold garland like for Christmas trees. For the halos,
we just cut a piece of gold garland to fit the children's heads and taped
them together. good luck----Christina
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"Get em' in the LOOP!" Share your ideas!
Invite your friends, pastors, and coworkers
to join our discussion in SSTN.
http://www.christiancrafters.com/page3.html
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11) Resources to fund Sunday School Activities
Dear Ella:
I wanted to share with you a couple ideals that has worked for our Sunday
School Fund. We had a breakfast before Sunday School for the church. A
couple of weeks piror to the breakfast we as the members if they could
donate some stuff for our breakfast. They were so willing to help the kids
that we had more then enough to fix. We had a pancake breakfast. Pancakes,
sausage, juice, milk, and coffee. Now the teachers did the cooking but the
children did all of the serving and most of the cleaning up. We had a
donation box for the breakfast and some of the members even tipped the
children for their great service. We have members asking us when is our
next breakfast.
Also we had a hire our Sunday School Class Day. Some of the members that
needed some work done around their homes. Like raking leaves, washing
windows, cleaning the basements, etc. We had a couple of small groups that
was supervised by a teacher that went to the members homes to do the
chores. We got a love offering for doing what was done. That was a big hit
with the members also.
Hope this will help
May God Bless!
Jeannie
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12) Children's Ministry Course
Bethel College offers a master's degree in Children's Ministry. The course
can be taken via computer at home with a couple of weeks two times a year,
I
believe on campus. You can contact Bethel College for more information.
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KIDS CAN @ CHRISTMAS TIME
An Advent celebration of 28 crafts and recipes. Get two free projects in
the site! To learn more, click the link or copy and paste it to your
browser:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/crafts_Christmas_Advent.html
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