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Oriental Trading

Egg-ceptional Outreach Opportunity

Egg-ceptional Outreach Opportunity

Easter is coming! Easter is coming! Although some denominations do not believe in celebrating the resurrection on this day each year, we can all agree that we are to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior every Lord’s Day. Whether it is Easter or any other given Sunday, the resurrection of our Savior is an incredible and selfless gift for us. And regardless, Easter is the time of year when a large number of society takes time to worship the God of heaven. This is an amazing time for outreach when people are coming to churches instead of churches going into the communities; so use this time wisely.

Of course we want to use the time wisely, but how? Start with the setting. What do people see as they are walking into your building? Flowers? Green grass? When guests come into the building, are they greeted with a smile and someone helping them find their way? If they arrive late, is there someone to help them find a seat in a possibly crowded sanctuary? And of course, are you providing them with information about your congregation, the times you meet, the topics they can learn about in individual classes, the things you are involved in, and more? We want to give them reasons to return.

Kids! They are often timid about going to a new place and they certainly are not going to beg to return if we do not give them a reason to. Perhaps offer them something special when they arrive, to your guests and members. This may be a set of colors and coloring book about Easter, Easter Egg slime or putty, Easter chalk set, a stick of gum with a note… you get the idea. It doesn’t have to be expensive. With their little gift, offer an incentive to come back to class next week or another upcoming event. Have a special service, a children’s church, just for them so it is on their level. We want them to understand why they are there and enjoy being a part.

Here are some Easter lesson ideas from some of the best. I have not used these but have been exploring my options. I do not make money for sharing these with you, just putting what I’m looking at in one place to make it easy.

Children’s Ministry Deals: Newest Easter Curriculum

Children’s Ministry Deals: 6 FREE Easter Program Choices

High Voltage: Surprise! Easter.

Teaching Sunday School: Exploring Easter

Need some freebie ideas to hand out to kids this Easter? Here are a few I like (I may receive a small commission on these items):

Not a FREEBIE, but nice to use as a prop in class:

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Crafty Thursday – Lion’s Den “No Stress” Stress Balls

Crafty Thursday – Lion’s Den “No Stress” Stress Balls

Daniel is an amazing example for us in scripture, especially when teaching kids. Daniel was exiled to Babylon when he was young. He was taught all the ways of Babylon and ended up on King Nebuchadnezzar’s good side early on all thanks to Daniel’s faith in the one true God. When King Darius came along, Daniel was still highly favored by the king. Unfortunately, there were some others who were quite jealous and tried to get rid of Daniel by tricking the king into signing an order that would not allow Daniel to pray to the one true God.

How might Daniel have been feeling during this time? Help kids really think about it. All Daniel had to do was hide when he prayed for the next 30 days. That’s not very long. Surely God would understand, right? This was a scary time because the consequences were painful- he’d be fed to a den of hungry lions. But Daniel did not seem to worry. No stress! He remained faithful prayed every day to God. You know the rest of the story. Although thrown into a den of hungry lions, God sent an angel to protect him. Daniel was safe.

To get kids excited about bible class this particular Sunday, we made stress balls. Well, I made the stress ball and they drew a lions head. I was not sure how “stress-free” class would be for my teachers with a bunch of kiddo’s trying to get flour into a balloon. The kids loved their lion stress balls and it was a great time to talk to them about not worrying about the consequences. We need to do what is right all the time and let God handle the rest.

Yellow Balloons (25)

Permanent Markers (12)

“No Stress” Lion Stress Ball

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Crafty Thursday-Lost Sheep Craft

Crafty Thursday-Lost Sheep Craft

Want a craft kids get excited about? One they take home and show everyone? One they take to school and show everyone? This is a good one for that. It’s more than a craft…. it’s a game.

When telling the Parable of the Lost Sheep kids have fun making sheep. Then, they hide them under one of the cups, mix the cups up and let someone else guess which one its under.

Supplies:

Pom Poms (1-2″ white)

Felt (Black)

Wiggly Eyes

Bathroom Cups

Scissors

Glue

First, cut out a sheep face with ears from black felt. I used regular felt and glued later, but I included a link here for the sticky back felt that may be even better.

Second, glue the wiggle eyes onto the sheep’s face.

Third, glue the head with eyes onto the pom pom (or stick it if you got the sticky back felt)

Finally, set out your set of three cups and hide the sheep under one. Mix the cups around and see if someone watching can find the sheep.

See how’s it done here (please ignore the dead poinsettia in the background):

Not ready to make it yet? Just Pin It in Pinterest and you will be ready to go whenever you are ready!

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Crafty Thursday-Cotton Ball Painting

Crafty Thursday-Cotton Ball Painting


I do not particularly like “crafts” in bible class because they just get thrown away. With that being said, I do like crafts when they draw kids in and cause them to invite friends.

Kids love to paint. Let’s be honest. If there is a chance of getting messy, most kids love it. When we find something they love, I am all about incorporating it into learning about God. So this week I am sharing a fun cotton ball painting that is simple and a lot of fun. Basically, we are sponge painting with cotton balls on the end of clothes pin. Take a look and see what you think.

Fun and simple cotton ball painting for kids of all ages

TOOLS FOR THIS PROJECT:

Fingerpaints

Clothespins

Cottonballs

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Combating the Cyber World to Keep Kids Safe & Healthy

Combating the Cyber World to Keep Kids Safe & Healthy

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.

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Simple Valentine Service Project

Simple Valentine Service Project

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.

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