New years is a great way to organize and clean out things. I like to work through the classroom to see what can be cleaned up, thrown away, or organized. That’s where the toys come in. I don’t know about you, but when I teach classes, we are way too busy to play with toys. Don’t get me wrong, I try to make my lessons as hands-on as possible sometimes using toys to help make a point
For the new year, our church is emphasizing reaching other for Christ. We’ve been talking about how to reach outside of ourselves and getting into the lives of others around us. I wanted the bulletin board as we enter and exit the church to be a reminder of just that. So I came up with being fishers of men. It is based on Matthew 4:19 where Jesus tells the disciples that He will make them “fishers of
It’s hard for kids (and adults) to think about Jesus as a boy. We like to think of Him in the manger as a baby, as a young toddler with the wise men, in ministry as an adult, and then dying on the cross. We forget that he grew up like we do. He went with His parents to Jerusalem for festivals, visited with friends, and talked with neighbors. In Luke 2:41-52, it talks about when Jesus
Kid’s like resolutions too! These New Year’s Resolutions will help children focus on their relationship to Jesus. Print these resolution to share with your Sunday School. Kids’ Resolutions for the New Year – To follow Jesus! The new year is approaching and this is usually the time when we make New Year’s resolutions. Losing weight, exercising, staying organizing, waking up early, etc. are the usual resolutions that people make (and break). What about our kids? Why don’t
While I was growing up, every Christmas Eve, my parents would bring out the walnuts and popcorn jar. At that time, I didn’t quite understand the meaning behind this activity, but now I completely get it. I appreciate my parents for showing us the true meaning of this time of year, but I think it can be for the entire year. You see, it was a simple glass jar full of popcorn and walnuts. They would bring
My family and I are making a conscience effort to make this Christmas about the TRUE reason for this season – Jesus Christ! So as I was thinking of songs that we hear, I thought of “Jingle Bells”. That is a very popular song, but it doesn’t say anything about Jesus. So, I changed the words and wrote my own version of it. I hope you like it…my kids sure did! Jesus Christ (sung to the tune
My Sunday School class loves to color, cut, and has fun re-enacting stories, so I thought they would love this. I just created this simple playlet for them to color, cut, and then use to re-enact the Christmas story. I’m going to even bring in my laminator so that after they color and cut the pieces, I can laminate them and add magnets. Once the magnets are attached, they can “stick” them to the side of the
My 1st grade son is learning to read and we are working on larger words by using syllables and word parts. We are studying the Christmas story right now and I wanted something that he could use to learn the story as well and practice his reading skills. So I have put this little reader together use Luke 2:6-12 as a guide. Click on the preview image above to download the printable version I wrote the story
My kids and I are really concentrating on the true meaning of Christmas this year. Not that we don’t every year, but to tell the truth, we still watch the usual Christmas movies: Rudolph, Santa Clause is coming to town, Santa Buddies, etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with those movies, I actually really like them. But we are trying to remember the true meaning of Christmas and leave out as much of the commercialism as possible.
This year for my Jr. Church class we are making it simple. You see, I have a young group who don’t necessarily know the Bible story of Christmas. So we are taking it slow and easy, making sure that they understand the characters and events that lead to the greatest event EVER…the birth of Jesus. I wanted to walk my students through the story of Jesus’ birth using the Bible. We sit on the floor and we
My kids and I like to play card games at home for fun. It’s always a good time playing Go Fish, Old Maid, and War with my two boys. As we were playing together today, we were talking about Christmas. I just love Christmas and everything about this time of year. I thought it would be fun to have Christmas playing cards that weren’t all about Santa and the worldly view of this special time of year.
I love to tell the story of Jesus’ birth to my Sunday School kids. They are preschool and kindergarten children and they love story time! I wanted just a simple book to read them this Christmas, so I put together this little booklet for them. I’m going to print out a copy for the classroom as well as a copy for each child to take home. Click on the preview above to download the printable version It’s
December is such a busy time of the year. All of the Christmas programs, plays, parties, decorating, and gift buying can get quite overwhelming. It can also be expensive! Many families go into debt during this time of the year. We get so busy and spend so much money that we forget that it’s the simple things that mean the most. Being together with your family and sharing the gift of Jesus Christ with others will make
Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year. We get all caught up in the hustle and bustle of this time of year. What we seem to forget is the reason why we celebrate. We celebrate because Jesus was born. Our Lord and Savior was born. He came to this earth, as a child, for you and me. Click on the preview above to download the print-friendly version We’ve also uploaded a “blank” version with only
I’ve been going through the 12 Symbols of Christmas booklet with my kids and thought it would be fun to have a word search to go with it. So, I’ve put together this simple word search using the words in the 12 Symbols booklet, which are talked about within the 12 Symbols of Christmas Play as well. Click on the preview above to download the PDF documents This is a very versatile word search. It can be
It is so important to me that my own children, as well as my children in my classes at church, learn Bible verses and really start to understand the Bible and how it applies to their lives. I love when we’ve studied a Bible verse and my son has memorized it, and later in the week or month, something comes up that reminds him of the verse. It’s really getting into his heart like Psalms 119:11, “Your
The Christmas season seems like it is just getting busier and busier. Our calendars get filled up with school events, family events, church events, and friend events. We make cookies, decorate the house, go look at Christmas lights, and sing Christmas carols. I love doing all of these things and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. As I am putting together our family calendar for things to do with our kids I am keeping in mind
We are coming up on the Christmas season and we all are going to be working on Christmas lessons during the whole month of December. One thing that I like to go over with my class are the different names of Jesus. He is called so many things throughout scripture that really point to who He is. I have created this acrostic poem, using the name of Jesus, and filling it in with other names that He
I have had to make a very difficult decision this season. I have decided not to have a Christmas Program for our children this year. I can’t tell you how difficult of a choice that it was for me to make. I even had a new play written and ready to go. I was so excited to put it together and have the kids put it on. It took prayer and talking it through with my husband
We have a bulletin board in our Jr. Church room that I would like to incorporate into our Thanksgiving lessons. I wanted it to be something that the kids can have input with so I thought of this simple idea that takes little prep. and supplies. Print out the words/letters that spell out: WE ARE THANKFUL. Click on the preview above to download the PDF printable. Post them on a bulletin board, wall, door, etc. Let the
My students love to make things. They love to cut, color, glue, staple, anything that is active. They also like to learn names of people in the church and talk about who they are and what they know about them. This activity is great for all of that. On Sunday, we are going to make a We Are Thankful For Our Church paper chain. I am going to cut out strips of construction paper in Fall colors.
I want to talk with my students about things that we should be thankful for. I want to guide their thinking, as always, to the Bible, and what we can be thankful for according to the Bible. I put together this acrostic poem of the word, “THANKFUL”, with words that match each letter and a Bible verse to correspond with each of those words. Click on the preview above to download the printable PDF We’ve also uploaded
This is a very adaptable craft. My first thought was to use this as a booklet. I want to use this with my Preschool/Kindergarten Sunday School class to make a I Am Thankful For Book for them to make for their family. Before class, I will print out many copies of the template and have them cut out in squares. We will talk about what it means to be thankful and make a list of things that
I wanted to make my “12 Symbols of Christmas” book, into a play. So here it is. The scene is as follows: A mom is decorating her home with her children. As they add different items to their home, they discuss the meaning behind each item and how they all lead to Jesus. >> Click here to download the print-friendly version. The Symbols of Christmas (Children & Mom are decorating their house for Christmas) Mom: OK Kids!
