The Sunday School Teacher's Network Newsletter - Great ideas for children's ministry!


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Issue #6 - February 16, 2009 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. ~ Jesus
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In this issue of the SSTN Newsletter: Scroll down the page to view articles. 1) Volunteer Job Description? 2) Easter gift for children to give? 3) Getting through to 5th-6th graders 4) Getting through to 5th-6th graders 5) Getting through to 5th-6th graders Your participation makes SSTN a success! 6) Kingdom Dog 7) Equipping teachers 8) No Passion for Kids 9) Developing a Passion For Kids 10) Summer Curriculum? Invite your friends and coworkers to join us. Click here.	Home Search for Ideas Support SSTN PCM Discount 15% OFF Ministry Resources Bible-4-Life Curriculum Gospel Fun Activities Holidays & Holy Days Make N' Take Downloads E-books F-R-E-E Resources Bible Games Christian Crafts Christian Skits Object Talks Missions For Kids Recycling Ideas

1) Volunteer Job Description? We're thinking about putting together a short job description for any volunteer who would like to teach or lead any of the classes in our church that involves children - from infants to teens. I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share their job description so we don't have to "re-invent the wheel". We want to be able to screen any volunteer who is currently struggling with drug or alcohol abuse or is living with another person outside of marriage. We want volunteers who are good role models and are specifically living their lives according to scripture. Thanks. Cathy Bodell New Hope Church of Christ Benzonia, Michigan
2) Easter gift for children to give? We are going to do an Easter egg hunt, but part of the time we are going to make something for the children to hand out to everyone after service on Easter Sunday. Any suggestions? We will need to make about 200-300 and expect 20-40 children making the craft; so it can not be to hard. I want something resurrection related that either contains a salvation message, or that a salvation message can be attached to. We do Children's worship, so the kids will be outside when the service dismisses and I want them to hand one to everyone in attendance and say something like "Jesus is alive" or He is risen. Those that are to old for children worship but helped with the craft will be dismissed early to come join us. We are going to talk about witnessing and telling others about Jesus as we make our craft. Also that we have many people on Easter that do not come to church any other time. Your suggestions are appreciated. I read often but haven't posted in quite awhile. Becky --from SSTN: check out the Palm Leaf or Mosaic Cross in the "Crafts - Holy Days and Holidays" section. The Christian Crafts link is listed above in the bright, green box.
3) Getting through to 5th-6th graders Are you using interactive lessons, where the students are involved in the Bible story/lesson time? There are many good ways to engage students as you tell the story. Assign actions to certain words (when they hear that word they do the action), have them count certain words, use simple puppets (mop and broom puppets are great), etc. Teresa
4) Getting through to 5th-6th graders I have found that kids this age like to help out. You might give them some responsibilities. I let them count offering, take attendance, clean up etc... I also reward them with tickets for certain things such as memorizing a verse, bringing their Bible. I can also take their tickets away if they are not listening or not obeying the rules. With the tickets, they can buy prizes after class. This has really worked great for me. I have K-6th Children's Church. TP
5) Getting through to 5th-6th graders I teach a Good News Club every week at the elementary school in my neighborhood. We have several 5-6 graders, as well as K-4th. The kids all know that we will have a review game after the Bible lesson and I make the games exciting! We usually have 2-3 teams competing. You can use 2 teams (boys against girls, or if uneven, just pick the teams). Child Evangelism Fellowship gives suggestions on games and sometimes I use them, but I have found a wonderful book I believe was suggested on this site: Ed Dunlop's "Mouse on a Mission". I just love the games in there and so do the kids! They are listening intently to the lesson, and since most of them are Christians, I teach Discipleship and application. I also do reward them with 'treats' (the winning team gets to pick first). I also have several parents and friends praying for my class every week and give them 'updates' every week. Some of my friends are always on the lookout for inexpensive prizes of treats to put in the 'kitty' and some of the stuff they bring is not even new, but the kids love to see each week what's in there that they can claim for their own! Leona - GNC teacher
6) Kingdom Dog The following youtube video corresponds so well with lesson three from the Gifts of the Spirit lessons. I'm going to show it to my class this coming week! I can't wait to hear their response! http://www.youtube.Com/watch?v=yKohJ1k4oKA
7) Equipping teachers For Lorraine: Maybe your Sunday School already does this, but a suggestion may be to have "substitute Sunday" the last Sunday of each month, that way all teachers get a break and a chance to be "rejuvenated" in an adult class. The church I grew up in did this. Each class had their own substitute. The sub also would fill in any time the regular teacher was on vacation, etc. Just a thought.... Peggy
8) No Passion for Kids Our church has a Teacher Appreciation Banquet once a year to recognize those who work hard all year to bring the gospel to children. At that Banquet, we often have testimonials from people who were saved during or as a result of Sunday School when they were young. This is a great motivation for teachers. Also, having teacher training sessions that allow teachers to mingle with other teachers and discuss techniques, ideas and challenges will help them avoid burn-out! Judith
9) Developing a Passion For Kids TP, For the last couple of years, in Sept, I passed a questionnaire out about themselves to all the kids and they were to take it home, answer the questions, and bring it back. I picked one each week and interviewed the child from the questionnaire. It included questions as, favorite Bible character or story, favorite vacation, favorite thing to do, what do you think heaven looks like, and the all favorite question--what is the grossest thing that has ever happened to you. I changed it every year. Usually I would begin to read the first few answers such as age, favorite food, hobby, etc and have the kids try to guess who it was, then bring up the child. That developed more interest. This year I am asking a Bible question with a number answer such as how many disciples?, how many times did Jesus said to forgive?, etc) The child must get to SS on time to have his stick in the jar, then I pull a stick and ask the question of the child. He/she can ask help from a friend and the child gets a small prize from the treasure box. I read the passage from the Bible and we talk about it for a few minutes, pray and send them to their appropriate classes. I try to keep this period of time to 10 minutes. Kathie
10) Summer Curriculum? I am looking for suggestions for our church to use for our 13 week summer program on Sunday mornings. We have K-6th grade together with about 35-40 kids. Thanks, Laurie Munden --from SSTN: our Lights, Camera, Action Bible Skits grew out of a desire to present something different to children during the summer. They have been very successful with our pilot groups! You can review the skits in our "Gospel Fun" curriculum section at: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/curriculum_gospelfun.html
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