Nearly eight in 10 parents believe that they have a more complicated job in raising their kids today than their parents did raising them, says cultural commentator Andy Crouch in The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place, which was written in partnership with Barna research.
Why is this? 65% of parents said technology or social media. Combine this with the 52% who believe the world is more dangerous and 40% who believe it’s a lack of common morality, and we’ve go a mess on our hands! I believe parents today face a real challenge. Look at these startling statistics shared by Bark, a company helping parents navigate this crazy online realm:
What can do as parents to protect our children? It is unrealistic to think we can just take away all avenues to technology. It’s a part of this world today. It’s used in schools and businesses. Kids need educated. But how often do our kids listen to us when their feelings are on the line? So what is the answer?
When my kids were in middle school and early high school, I used a monitoring app called TeenSafe. It helped me stop a lot of things before they happened, but I had to constantly read everything- texts, posts, etc. There was no privacy and personally, I would prefer not to see all of their communications. And it was time consuming! Recently I came across something new that I love so much that I asked to become an affiliate. I want to share it with every parent!
Bark, an award winning app created BY parents, FOR parents to keep kids safe online. In collaboration with child psychologists, youth advisors, digital media experts and law enforcement professionals, Bark created a terrific solution for families. Parents do not have to read every posts either. Kids keep their privacy while alerting parents anytime it detects cyberbulling, sexual content, depression, anxiety, talk of self-harm or suicide, and even notifies you if it detects talk of violence. Depending on your platform, Android or iPhone, Bark can do different things. It can monitor Messenger, Instagram, SnapChat, Chrome, YouTube… the list goes on. This app is amazing! And it is only $9 a month per FAMILY. You read it right. I said per family, not per person.
Start your 7-day FREE trial. Cancel anytime. Only $9 per month to keep your children safe online. Trust me, it’s worth it!
Please share this with your friends, family, parents in your ministry… Online issues are enormous right now and we have to be proactive to keep our kids safe and mentally healthy.
This year I plan to teach my kindergarten through fifth graders to serve like Jesus. I do not know that Jesus ever sat down to make Valentine’s for the elderly, but he instructed us to care for the widows and orphans. (James 1:27)
I am printing these Valentine cards on card stock and will pre-cut out for the kids. On the back of each one, the kids will write a kind note or for those that are too young, they can draw a picture. I will have our congregations name printed out for them to hand write, “Love, Leander Church of Christ” just so the elderly can share with family and friends where it came from. Next, we will attach one card to a box of SweetHearts candy with mini Glue Dots. (I also thought about carnations but we will save that for another time.) It is super simple and the kids will have fun serving.
Just before Valentine’s Day, I will take a handful of the kids to the assisted living and memory care center that several of our members now live in to hand deliver. We will personally deliver a Valentine to the members of our congregation so the kids can see the joy they are bringing and feel good about what they worked on. We will leave a bunch of extra at the front desk for them to hand out to the others.
Feel free to download and use these Valentine cards. As always, I am on the lookout for new ideas. Please share things you have tried.
As I prayed and reflected on 2018 in children’s ministry, I could not stop thinking, “Jesus came to serve, to teach and to show us the power of God.” Can you imagine a world filled with servant hearts? Am I teaching kids to be like Jesus?
It hit me, that yes, I am teaching them to know their awesome God and to see His power, but I’m not teaching them to serve. Why not? Well, kids do not want to serve and I am trying to get them through the doors of the church building. Let me say that if this is you, there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, I would start again by making bible class fun so kids learn best, retain more and want to bring their friends. A few years down the road and I am ready to help my kids grow through service, growing in spirit.
I do not know how this will go. It may be a complete bust, but I am ready to try. With God all things are possible and I have to believe God will bless a work that trains his children to be his hands and feet. Of course, combining service work with some fun and reminding them of the value in what they are doing should help… I think.
I brainstormed some ways my kindergarten through fifth graders can serve. Here are some ideas I have come up with:
Package meals to take to our sick
Make cards, small gifts, or take flowers to shut ins
Package items needed at children’s homes, homeless shelters or others
Invite kids from a children’s home for pizza and games
Cards or care packages for missionaries
Clean the sanctuary
Paint happy stones with bible verse on one side and leave along a nature trail during our Spring Break nature walk
Surprise staff, elders and teachers with treats (even for school teachers with a verse for encouragement)
This service work will be outside of bible classes. I still believe kids need to learn who God is and what he expects of his people. Studying to know God is scriptural. Take the biblical account of King Josiah, for instance. While cleaning up and repairing the temple, the Book of Law that was given to Moses was found. When Josiah heard the words, he knew they had not kept the commandments. He had the words read aloud to the nation so they would know what God expected of them. They had been living in sin, apart from God, because they had poor leadership and did not know the word. We need to be strong leaders for our kids and share God’s amazing plan for us with them.
Please share your ideas, things you have tried or even just thought about. I would love to see a generation grow as servants of Christ. Kids growing up not thinking about how God would want them to “feel” rather, kids choosing to live like Jesus. Wow!
Looking for a unique way of teaching kids the story of the birth of Jesus, our Savior? Here’s an idea we I am using tonight with our K-5th grades. They will learn about the most amazing gift ever given, our Savior. I wanted them to have something to take home to remember the story and I wanted it to be something they wanted to share with others. So what did I do? Story Stones!
“What are Story Stones?” you ask. These are simply stones with pictures that jog the memory to tell the story. I included a 2-sided page of backdrops to accompany the stones just for added fun. All that is needed is some smooth stones, 8 per person for this story, and permanent markers. I had some left over used for pumpkin drawing that worked perfectly. I have a page with all the super simple drawings for each stone so kids can copy onto their stones. They enjoy this part! If they mess up, tell them to flip the stone over. They get two chances. Once done, pass out the backdrops and begin telling the story in your most engaging story telling voice. Instruct kids to follow along placing their stones in the story as you go. (I had some glossy gray stones leftover that I used but would love to use the glow in the dark ones next time. I know the kids would eat this up telling the story in the dark with a black light!)
It’s Christmas time! I LOVE Christmas when so many hearts are receptive to Christ.
This is the time of year when so many people turn their focus to God, even those who do routinely attend worship. It is the prime time for outreach, for sharing the message of salvation. I like to host children’s events just for them while giving parents time to do some Christmas shopping. I also like to encourage events for the whole family to spend time together during the holiday season. This year’s theme… “Santa’s Workshop,” and it can be held either way. Regardless of which way you go, children’s party or family event, make sure to promote! Get the word out about your event.
I recommend having a feature “item” that is the main draw. This could be a play, concert, meal or unique craft. Gingerbread house building is a popular one. For our Santa’s workshop this year, kids were excited to use a hammer and nails to make there very own Christmas countdown. More on this in a minute.
What do we do at Santa’s workshop?
Holiday Singing
Devotional
Crafts
Games
Snacking (of course!)
For family events, set up centers so families can come and go, participating in the different parts of the event at their own speed. Have a devotional center with times posted for when you start the story each time. You will want this area to be very comfortable and inviting, maybe even offer hot chocolate to sip on while listening. Set up a place for families to take their pictures. You could even have someone stationed at this spot to take the pictures and offer to email them the picture immediately. This way, you get their email address to follow up. Craft stations may be as simple as coloring a picture or gluing cotton balls to Santa’s beard. Go all out and make elf slime! Games? Oh the fun you can have! Check out Pinterest if you can’t think of anything.
Now for a children’t event, it will probably look a little different. They can’t really wonder around on their own. Here’s what my party looked like:
As kids were arriving, we made elf slime. Kids can’t get enough of slime! (I made a few extra ahead of time for those that arrived late.)
Make Christmas countdown trees
Pass out snacks to eat during story
Christmas story time
Game: Word game (Stick one card with a holiday word or picture on it onto child’s forehead. Other kids give clues to help them guess the word.)
I was prepared! If we finished early, we were heading to the playground.
I didn’t forget! I told you I’d tell you about the Christmas countdown trees. Here’s a video showing you just how it’s done. They are easy and something kids will keep. I did not do this, but I wish I had given kids a sticker to put on the back with the church name and the year. You do want adults (or high school kids) to help. My older kids did great, but a few younger ones still needed help. (I had 2nd – 5th grades). Also, I did not end up giving my kids all the countdown numbers, instead, I just gave them two blank presents that I laminated along with a dry erase marker to easily change days left until Christmas. Here’s a link to the countdown presents if you want to use them.
Make sure to recruit plenty of help for your event. Kids always need help whether it is with cutting, tying knots, or getting snacks… This is one of the best times of the year for kids so as a church, we want to help make it memorable when it comes to God’s family. I’d love to hear what you have done for your parties each year. I’m always looking for new ideas.
Creative Storytelling of The Witch of Endor to engage kids in God’s word and etching His lessons into their minds to pull from when they need it most in life.
This October I have been sharing scary bible stories with my kindergarten through fifth grade bible class on Wednesday nights. The goal is always to get kids excited about God! When they are excited about this, they learn who God is, they develop a love for God and they have a natural desire to share God with friends. One week they learned about “The Witch of Endor.” Real live witches in the bible? Yes! The bible really does have it all! Of course, I make sure to remind them that God said to stay away from witchcraft! It was not and is not acceptable to our God!
You will have children’s full attention as you make a crystal ball to tell the story. You can use ANY size container you want. In fact, when doing this activity for a large group, I had a large bowl. After telling the story ask questions to make sure they were paying attention. We want them going away with God’s word more so than the crystal ball. Then watch the excitement on their little faces when you let them try this activity on their own. I bought some small containers from the grocery story (like you see in the picture). They come with lids so you can even put the water in the bowls before class. I put the dry ice in each cup though and told any child that touched the dry ice they would lose theirs. Every child got their own string and groups shared the soapy suds. (Dry ice can usually be purchased at large grocery stores. You have to ask for it though.)
For the rest of their lives, when they see this activity, I bet they think of the “Witch of Endor.” And what lesson can they learn from this? King Saul had turned his back on God. He only called on God when he was afraid, so God was not there this time. King Saul was so afraid that he chose to sin even more by seeking out a witch to conjure up Samuel from the dead. King Saul did not get the answer he wanted either. He learned that he and his sons would die, and that’s just what happened. We need to be obedient to God, always. The bible tells us that sin leads to death. Sure, we will all mess up from time to time and God will forgive us, but we should not call on God only in times of trouble. That’s not a good relationship. And when we are afraid, do not make matters worse by adding sin into the mix. That’s just asking for more trouble. Trust and obey God. Grow a real relationship with your Heavenly Father who loves you. It’s an awesome lesson to learn any time of the year, but it is especially fun at Halloween.
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If you enjoyed this article, check out the Pumpkin Prayer.
