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SSTN # 89 - August 18, 2003


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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:


--> NEW! Jesus Ascending Mini-Movie

1) Halloween alternative?
2) Miracles Songs?
3) Youth group names?   

--> NEW Midweek Series: "Super Heroes of the Bible"

4) Multiple Ages   
5) Working with 3 to 8 yr olds
6) Pen Pals   

--> NEW Midweek Series: "His Name Shall Be Called..."

7) Planning For The Year?
8) Multiage Curriculum
9) Multiple Ages   
10) Twelve Apostles
11) Jungle/Safari Ideas
12) How to handle 3-5 year olds   

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--> Jesus Ascending Mini-Movie

A unique flip-card pattern that children color and assemble, then watch
the resurrected Jesus ascend into the clouds. Kids make it and take it
home! To see a picture and to learn more, follow this link:

http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 


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1) Halloween alternative?   

I was wondering if anybody does a an alternative to halloween.  If so
what?

Thanks,
TP

--from SSTN: there are TONS of ideas in the Archives.  In the search box
type, "halloween" and "harvest" to locate them:
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html 

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2) Miracles Songs?

I am looking for upbeat songs to coordinate with a series we will be doing
this fall on the miracles of the Bible. Does anyone have any ideas? The
overall theme is that "God provides for his people in miraculous ways".
The specific miracles to be studied are: The Red Sea, Manna and Quail,
Elijah and the widow story, water into wine, Jesus feeds 5000, Jesus heals
the blind man, and the Resurrection. The songs don't necessarily have to
be about these specific stories, but about miracles in general for K-5th
grade.

Thanks for any suggestions!
Sarah Keith <><

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3) Youth group names?   

A while back you had various names and their acronyms listed for youth
groups. I've lost a copy of the article. Re: LIONS. I remember the
ROCK-Reaching Out to Christ's Kids. Could you please reprint the list?

--from SSTN: no need to list them again...all past issues of SSTN are
archived and searchable at:  http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html 

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--> Super Heroes of the Bible

This special midweek program examines the lives of some famous
and not-so-famous people who had willing hearts to obey God.
And by obeying him, they were used in miraculous and powerful
ways to help change the course of human history. It is the goal of this
series to build FAITH, COURAGE, and OBEDIENCE in the lives of children,
and to change the world for Jesus Christ.

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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4) Multiple Ages   

>"I am sunday school teacher of the 3-8 year old  age group, and find it
>quite hard to plan lesson to fit the age"

My husband and I have taught ages 2-11 for several years now on Wednesday
evenings. Here are some suggestions:

a) Make the best of a not-so-perfect situation. Although this is not
ideal,
it is do-able!

b) Let the "older" kids be helpers! Draw on their knowledge of the stories
they may have already heard. Have them help act out, read, or tell stories
to the younger children, with some guidance.

c) Let the older kids do puppets to help tell the story and to keep the
younger kids engaged in learning!

d) Set up two tables~ one with stuff for the older kids to do and one with
activities for younger children. Let the older children basically
supervise
their own activities as much as possible! Examples: Older table~ board
games, craft supplies, drama materials, drawing materials, playdoh,
puzzles,
etc.  Younger table~ age-appropriate games, coloring books & crayons,
age-appropriate crafts, magnets and trays, beans or m&ms to sort and
count,
etc.

e) Start out together with prayer (don't leave the little ones out on
this~
have them pray aloud as early as they are able to talk! Guide them if
needed, but don't leave them out!) Then, from there, have a plan that you
follow from week to week so that the children know what to expect. For
example,
-prayer
-snack
-story/lesson
-activities tables
-music together

f) Assign jobs to the children to make things go more smoothly. We use
song
leaders, ushers, supplies getters, and clean up crew. For music time, have
the older kids help make up motions to use in teaching songs to the
younger
ones.

g) Instead of trying to make the lessons appropriate for all ages, gear
lessons toward the younger ones in the group, and let the older children
help with the story-telling, etc.

h) Choose something that is a staple from week to week that all ages can
share in. We did the pledges to the American and Christian flags, and the
pledge to the Bible every week. Parents come up to me all the time amazed
that their 4 year old knows the pledge of allegiance! You may choose to
recite the 10 commandments (simplified, of course) with motions, or recite
the fruits of the spirit, or a special verse or two that they can say
together.

i) Start off with a bathroom break every time! Go, as a group, to the
restroom and have everyone at least try to use the restroom. Help them
wash
their hands.

j) End with the same thing in the same place each week. This helps parents
know where to pick children up and gives children some consistency. You
may
want to spend the last 5 minutes singing or playing in an activity room.
With Sunday School, this may not be much of an issue, but on Wednesdays,
you
never know exactly when church will end, so we plan free time from about
10
'til the hour on...

In His Service,
Angie

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5) Working with 3 to 8 yr olds

Re. Georgie Working with 3 to 8 yr olds

In our Sunday School of approx. 70 children we separate our 3 to 5 yr olds
and 5 to 12 yr olds.  How we have organized our 5 to 12 yr class might
work with your 3 to 8s.  We have about 50 mins - the first part we meet as
a big group on the carpet for singing, story presentation, and sometimes a
game.  Then we break into smaller groups for discussion/bible
skills/craft/prayer/memory verse/  etc.  The table groups are in age
groupings and the teacher can adapt the rest of the program to the age
group he or she has.  The table group leaders can rotate who does the
story presentation.   If you are working on a particular theme or
character, I would be happy to share ideas for crafts, etc.  We may have
to start doing this with our 3 to 5 class as it is now up to 25 children
on the roll.

Wendy  Australia

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6) Pen Pals   

For those that know and those that don’t! After a huge response for pen
pals for my Sunday School class on this notice board, I decided to set up
a web site to allow others to find suitable pen pals, it now has it’s own
name www.ssppe.com ‘Sunday School Pen Pal Exchange’ So for all you our
there still looking for pen pals, please take a look, let me know what you
think, and join up!  God bless, Sam Langton - sam.langton@ntlworld.com

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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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7) Planning For The Year?

When you DON'T use an established curriculum, how do you go about deciding
what to teach for the coming year? (K-6th grade?)

Thanks!

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8) Multiage Curriculum

"One Room Sunday School" covers ages 3 to middle school and is published
by Abingdon Press.

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9) Multiple Ages

To Georgie:
Also check daniellesplace.com.  Usually each theme lesson has two
versions,
one for younger children, and one for older children. You have to
subscribe,
but it is well worth the price.  

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10) Twelve Apostles

When I taught the 12 apostles, I gave each child a toilet tissue roll,
pieces of cloth, felt, etc and let them make each apostle.  We studied
each one separately so when they finished the study, they had the twelve
to take home.
While there are few details on some of the apostles, with a little study,
a person can glean some information by reading places where the Bible says
".....and ALL the apostles (or disciples)...."
Along with these lessons, we sang the 12 Disciple song.
Helen Setser

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11) Jungle/Safari Ideas

Kim in WV: We recently had a capital campaign that focused on the safari
theme and I was in charge of the children's activities.
I did everything around the "WILD" acronym -- Willing, Inviting, Loving
Disciples. We made WILD bracelets, had a WILD newsletter and decorated
everything in animal print. I purchased a set of animal print sheets from
Walmart, twin size, that were only about $7-8 for the set. You get a lot
of
material from a set of sheets. I priced fabric at the stores, but it was
cost prohibitive.
A fun way to decorate is with larger animals. I've discovered the wonders
of
foam insulation sheets and use them for everything. You can find coloring
pages on the net, print them out and convert to overhead projector sheets
then blow them up and trace on the foamboard. Cut, paint and hang!
I liked the idea of the WILD acronym and it gives you four days worth of
things to focus on.
We also made palm trees (although they don't technically match, the kids
didn't care) out of carpet rolls, paper and wire. Vines can easily be
strung
across the ceiling, made out of twisted brown craft paper. Add a few
raffia
table skirts or put them over the windows and you've got yourself a total
look.
Any questions and I'll be happy to share what we did.
aprather@stpaulabilene.org



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12) How to handle 3-5 year olds   

I have learned that Skittles can do a lot.  If one kid doesn't want to
participate it can affect everyone.  If you give everybody a Skittle if
they participate, then everybody wants to participate and it's so small
that it's not a lot of sugar.



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