Sunday School Lessons - Learning the Creation Story

The creation story is a central component in Sunday school lessons for any age group. One great way to teach the creation story to the pre-school age group is through a garden unit. A Sunday school garden unit goes through the different elements - air, water, and soil - and explains how God created everything to work together in harmony.

Garden Unit Set Up

Because pre-school kids are so active, it is important to have lessons that incorporate a lot of different activities. For the garden unit, try to teach about the different elements in as many ways as possible - through songs, skits, snacks, and crafts.

Air

Air is a good way to start the garden unit, because it fits with the start of the creation story.

Read the start of the creation story, and talk about how we perceive light and darkness. We might sometimes think it's scary in the dark, but God is everywhere and He always protects us (watch or sing Veggie Tails "God is Bigger than the Boogie Man").
Talk about how smells travel through the air and do an activity where the kids close their eyes and guess what smells you put into the air.
We experience the air through wind, which helps us fly a kite or sail a boat. Have the kids draw pictures of "air" and how we use it.
End by thanking God for making clean air for us to breathe. Talk about how it's our responsibility to take good care of the air.

Water

After the heavens and light and darkness, God created water.

Talk about the different forms of water (lakes, oceans, rain, bathtub, swimming pool) and have the kids draw pictures of water.
Discuss how humans, plants, and animals need water to live.
Sing "Deep and Wide."
Thank God for our water and talk about not wasting it.

Soil

God also created the earth, which is made from soil, or dirt.

For a messy activity, have the kids close their eyes and feel inside boxes filled with different kids of "dirt," like rich soil, sand, and clay. Talk about how we find different kids of dirt in different places and how they each serve a certain purpose.
Spend one week planting bean sprouts in clear cups and talk about how plants grow. Check on the plants from week to week to see their progress.
Make "ants on a log" for a snack and talk about all the different kids of life God created. Use celery for the base, and fill the stalks with peanut butter to make the log. Place raisins on top for the ants. Talk about how we need to protect animals and the rest of God's creations.
Finish by thanking God for the earth and all He created.

Bible Party Themes For Preschoolers - Fun Ways to Teach Young Children About God in Sunday School

Everyone likes to have a party! Preschoolers are no exception. You can make learning the Bible fun with some of the party themes outlined below. These are seasonal party ideas that are easy to plan and include devotions that will hopefully have a lasting impression on the little lambs in your church.

Nature Hike Party - Autumn
Purpose: To enjoy God's creation.
Activity: Go on a nature walk and collect flowers, twigs, leaves, pebbles, etc.
Craft: Provide zip-lock bags for each child. Punch a hole in each bag and tie them together with yarn to make a class nature book.
Snack: Trail mix.
Devotion: Review the Creation.

Noah's Ark Party - Autumn
Purpose: An alternative to a Halloween party.
Activity: Have each child bring in their favorite stuffed animal. Have parents donate any wagons that they have at home for the party. Decorate wagons with crepe paper streamers. Have a parade with the stuffed animals.
Game: Play a CD with animal sounds and let the children tell you what kind of animal it is.
Snack: Animal crackers and milk.
Devotion: Talk about Noah building the ark and how Noah loved and obeyed God.

Christmas Party - Winter
Purpose: Learn the Christmas story.
Activity: Make play dough cakes and decorate them with plastic candles to celebrate Jesus' birthday.
Game: Hide nativity figures around the room. Let the children find them and bring them to the stable.
Snack: Decorated cupcakes, and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.
Devotion: Tell the children the Christmas story.

Valentine's Day Party - Winter
Purpose: Show love to family and friends.
Teacher Prep: Make cookies ahead of time. Provide children with icing, plastic knives, sprinkles, and zip-lock sandwich bags.
Activity: Bake and decorate cookies to give to others.
Snacks: Decorated cookies and milk.
Devotion: Discuss how Jesus fed 5,000 people because He loved them very much.

Kite Party - Spring
Purpose: To have fun and enjoy being outdoors.
Activity: Flying kites. Have parents bring kites that either store bought or homemade for the big event.
Snack: Rice cereal treats and fruit punch.
Devotion: Talk about how Jesus calmed a storm (windy).

Easter Party - Spring
Purpose: Celebrating Jesus' resurrection.
Craft: Make musical instruments. String jingle bells of pipe cleaners, put beans in paper towel tubes and cover the ends, plus any other great ideas you have.
Activity: Play instruments and sing Christmas songs that praise Jesus.
Snack: Fruit and crackers with juice.
Devotion: Discuss the triumphal entry of Jesus.

Mother's Day Party - Spring
Purpose: Show love to mothers.
Teacher Prep: Provide cups, dirt, and small flowering plants. Also provide stickers, small pictures of the children, Popsicle sticks, and glue.
Activity: Let children decorate their cups with stickers and plant flowers in them. Glue a picture of each child on a Popsicle stick and push into the dirt beside the plant.
Snack: Cupcakes brightly decorated and juice.
Devotion: Let the children tell you why their love their mothers.

Father's Day Party - Summer
Purpose: Show love to fathers.
Teacher Prep: Cut out tie shapes with knots from construction paper. Punch holes on each side of the knots and string yarn through so dads can wear their ties.
Activity: Let children decorate the ties that they are going to give their dads with crayons and/or stickers.
Snack: Cookies and water.
Devotion: Talk about how much Joseph loved Jesus and took care of him as he grew.

Ice Cream Party - Summer
Purpose: A time for parents, teachers, and children to have fun.
Activity: Make sundaes.
Craft: Make ice cream cones by cutting out circles from a variety of colored paper and long triangles from light brown paper for the cones. Let children glue the ice cream circles on top of the cones and decorate with glitter.
Snack: Ice cream, toppings, plastic bowls and spoons, paper towels.
Devotion: God gives us food, and boy is it yummy!

6 Tips For Back to School Scrapbooking Ideas

School scrapbooking albums usually include pictures of a child's first day of school for each grade level, but there's so much more to our back-to-school memories. Why not create a few page layouts that document the feelings and memories of the back-to-school season? Get your camera and your scrapbooking supplies ready, and try these school scrapbooking ideas.

Back-to-School Clothes Shopping

This is a new school year ritual. We all take our children shopping for new clothes to start the school season. This year, take your camera along for the trip, and not only will you capture some fun pictures of your children shopping, but you'll record the current fashions trends of that year. Be sure to include the good, the bad and the ugly of this year's fashions. Even if you have a less than enthusiastic shopper, it's a back-to-school tradition that should be part of any

Easter Sunday School Crafts

As if Easter isn't festive enough, there are some fun Easter Sunday school crafts for your class to do. The kids will make little favors to hang around their homes and even some to use on the Easter dinner table!

One of the most simple and adorable Easter Sunday school crafts is the cotton ball chick. These little fuzzy guys can be used for place settings. You'll need to provide the kids with the following: two yellow pompoms, half of a clean egg shell, small piece of orange craft foam, two google eyes, scissors, glue, one wood doll base, pastel colored craft paint and a paintbrush. Have the kids pick a color for their wooden doll bases and then paint them. Make sure that the egg shells are clean and then have the kids glue their pompoms inside, one on top of the other. They'll cut their orange foam into a little triangle and glue it on the top pompom for a beak. Have them glue the eyes above the beak and then have them glue the egg shell to the wooden base. Make sure that the kids are very careful with their egg shells because they're very delicate. When the project is completed, they'll have adorable little chicks to show off on their dinner tables.

When you're choosing Easter Sunday school crafts for your class to make, "Washcloth Bunnies" is a great choice. This is a craft that's suited for younger kids. You'll need to have the children bring in a washcloth. Each kid will also need a rubberband, a ribbon, wiggle eyes, a small pom-pom and glue. First, the kids will fold their washcloths in half in a way so that it forms a triangle. Then they'll roll their cloths from the small point to the long side. Once the washcloth is folded up so that it resembles a straw, they'll fold it in half. They'll fold the washcloth in half again, folding the loose strands back toward the fold (as the bunny ears). Once the ears are in that position, use your rubberband to keep the cloth in place. Then, you're going to take the ribbon and tie it around the rubberband, covering it up. The kids will glue on the google eyes and then they'll glue on the pompom for a nose. These can be used as egg holders.

If your class is seven or older, you can have them sponge paint eggs. You'll need hardboiled eggs, acrylic paints, sponges, paper towels, small bowl of water and an empty egg carton. You'll need multiple sponges and you'll need to cut them up for each paint color so that the colors don't mix together. Have them take the sponges and ring them out so that they're not drenched and then have them directly sponge paint their eggs. Have them do this with all different colors, including white so that it looks like part of the natural egg is still showing. Allow a couple of minutes for the paint to dry, acrylics dry quickly. When the eggs are done, each kid can take some home with them.

Easter Sunday school crafts are one of the reasons why kids love the holiday so much. It's a very important and joyful time and it should be celebrated!

Church Crafts - Two Ways to Get Creative in Sunday School

Sunday school activities are supposed to be fun, creative and exciting. A lot of the time, though, you may have a difficult time coming up with interesting church crafts that your children's church will enjoy. Here are two Sunday school crafts for your students to enjoy.

Stained Glass Bible Activity

For this Bible craft, you'll need the following supplies:

*wash-out markers
*coffee filter
*construction paper
*spray bottle filled with water
*clear contact paper

Hand out a coffee filter to each of your children's ministry students, and advise them to color it as they please with the markers (it's imperative that you bring markers that are washable). Next, have the kids spray the coffee filter with the spray bottle.

After the filter is dry, cut a cross out of the construction paper for each of your children's liturgy students (I would advise having these pre-cut before class, or allowing your kids to do it themselves if they are old enough). Now help the students glue the colorful filter to the construction paper and cover it with clear contact paper to ensure it lasts as long as possible. The students will love having something to bring home to their families, and it will prove to be a great addition to your curriculum.

Sandpaper Sunday School Craft

This is a great church craft to do if your current Sunday school curriculum incorporates Egypt. For this craft, you'll need enough pieces of coarse sandpaper for each student to have one as well as a lot of crayons.

Instruct your children's church students to draw an Egyptian scene on the sandpaper. Encourage them to draw pyramids, a sunset, and people. Tell them to be sure that they press hard on the crayons to get the best results.

This Bible craft will give your children's ministry students something to bring home to their families, which will spur conversation about the lessons they learned during Sunday school.

These two church crafts are great ways to get your students to tap into their creative sides while also reinforcing other lessons that you teach.

5 Ways to Minister to Your Preteen Sunday School Students

Preteens, or "tweens," are at sort of a crossroads in their lives. The alarming fact is that they are exposed to so much more than we were at that age. Evil influences are everywhere, and wrong behavior is often glorified by their peers. More than ever, we need to make our ministry life-changing and relevant to their lives. Many of us only have about an hour Sunday morning to do this. Here are some suggestions to help you get started

1. Know them by name.

This might sound obvious, but our church is very large, with approximately one thousand people in attendance every Sunday. My Sunday school class averages twelve to fourteen children each week, but they're not always the same kids. And I only see them for that hour. So I have to make a special effort to remember their names, first and last. Nothing makes a person feel less important than when you don't know his or her name.

2. Spend time chatting with them before class starts.

As the students are arriving and you are waiting to start the lesson, sit and talk with them. Try to say something to each student, even if it is brief. Ask them how their week went, how school was, if anything special happened during the week. It's not hard to draw them out, especially the preteen age - or any age for that matter. Kids love to talk about what's going on. They need to know you care about them.

3. Correct gently.

There are always going to be children who are noisy, rowdy, or even undisciplined. Try to deal with them in such a way as to not discourage them from coming to Sunday school. Don't yell at them or speak rudely to them. You are the role model. If one child is disrupting so much that the other children are not being able to learn, it is more serious. Of course, the child can't be allowed to hit or hurt the other children if he or she is aggressive.

You might try talking to your pastor or children's director about the problem. You could start asking parents to take turns sitting in on class to help out. Make sure that the problem student's parent is one of the first ones to come in. Pray a lot about this. You don't want to lose the child who is the discipline problem, or any of the other students either.

4. Make your lessons interesting and engaging.

Preteens get bored very quickly, and they don't hesitate to let you know. Mix things up a bit. Make sure to include Bible stories, real-life stories applying the lesson for kids their age, skits, games, and crafts.

5. Pray for them every day.

This is so important. You may be the only person in the world who is praying for them. Make a list of your students and pray for each one by name, including any special needs or situations that you happen to know about in their lives. Pray also that they will have hearts to receive God's instruction, that they will accept Christ, and live godly lives. Pray for them to resist all of the evil influences that abound today.

Preteens are in a unique age of life. Keep a pleasant, kindly attitude towards them. Let them know you enjoy being with them. Remember that our actions speak louder than our words. Reap the benefits of serving the Lord in this important ministry.

Sunday School Activities - Thanksgiving Craft for Elementary Classes

With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, it is important to teach the children in Sunday school what it means to be thankful. This time of year is a good reminder to be thankful for God and give thanks for all He does for us. Using Psalm 107:1 and this Thanksgiving flower activity, the children can go home for the holiday and share the spirit of thanks.

The Bible Verse

Start Sunday school class by asking what everyone thinks about when they think about Thanksgiving. Possible answers will include pilgrims and Indians, turkey, football, parades, and spending time with family. We definitely associate a lot of different things with this holiday, but it is important for us to remember who we should be thanking!

Next, share Psalm 107:1, "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever." Explain that we can give thanks to God by praying, taking care of what he created, and being nice to everyone. Have the children discuss how God is good and what they want to thank Him for.

The Craft Activity

For this activity, you will need:

A piece of construction paper for each child to use as a base
Pre-cut construction paper stems, leaves, and petals
Glue or glue sticks
Markers or crayons
For a more personalized craft, a Polaroid camera or digital camera with printer

Have the children glue the pieces onto their construction paper to make a flower. If you have a camera with instant printing capabilities, take a picture of each child and cut a circle around their face to use as the flower's center. If this isn't possible, you can use construction paper circles, jewels, or fuzzy balls for the center of the flower.

For each flower petal, have the children write one thing that they are thankful for (or, if they are too young, write it for them or have them draw a picture). Have the children decorate the rest of the paper with their name and pictures of all that God has created.

Wrap Up

Once the children are done with their flowers and the glue is dry, have them share with the rest of the class what they decided to be thankful for on each petal. Before taking them home, have the children spread their flowers on the table or floor so they can see what everyone made. Talk about the beautiful field that God has clothed in such splendor!

Finish off the Sunday school class by giving a Thanksgiving prayer. Thank God for each person in the class and ask him to bless each petal of their flowers.

Should Teaching Sunday School Be Easy? An Encouraging Word for Sunday School Teachers

I have the privilege of offering teacher training workshops to hundreds of Sunday School teachers and children's workers every year. I love what I do, but sometimes I don't like what I hear. Take, for example, this question: Do you have something easy I can do for Sunday School? If I am honest, when I hear that, it's like hearing fingernails being scraped on the chalkboard. On one hand, I know we are all busy and life is more hectic than ever. But on the other hand, it is essential that every Christian is aware of child workers, teaching the children about God could be a major task that will ever have. major projects take a lot of work. They are not easy and requires a lot of preparation and passion.

Preparation:

There is a saying which reads as follows: The teacher who fails to prepare, prepare to fail. I'm just preparing for Sunday Schoolon Saturday night, you are not putting the time and work in that God and your children deserve. All the elements of a good Sunday school class should be well thought out and completely prepared. Have you read and meditated on the Bible story you will share? Are you ready to present the story in a creative way that will keep your children interested and engaged? If doing a craft, do you have all the items ready for each child? Are your worship songs ready to sing? Make sure each and every part of your class time is completely ready to present.

Passion:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited do you get about waking up on Sunday morning to share what God has given you with your kids? Now before you start thinking I'm some kind of saint, I have to tell you that I have my Sundays where my energy level is not very high. On the other hand, I can definitely attest to the fact that there are many Sundays where I can't wait to to my class. I'm really excited to share what God has given me to share every child. Ask my husband says is true. Really prepared with my Bible study and Bible songs and games of revision increases my excitement. Pray and ask the Lord, each of the children this week, bless my engine roars. There are many children in Sunday school classrooms in the world, just waiting for someone to share with them the love of God Yes.This is even true of kids from Christian homes. As a Sunday school teacher, you have the unique opportunity to pour into your 6 or 7 kids (or whatever your class size is) and lavish on them God's wonderful and life-changing truths. That is pretty incredible!

Bottom line - Being a Sunday school teacher is not easy and it takes good hones work. You should see being a Sunday school teacher as one of the greatest things you get to do each week. Your kids deserve it.

Fall Crafts For Preschool Sunday School

Fall is an exciting time of year with all of the bright colors of the leaves, and the smells that mark this special time of year. Here is your chance to create some fall memories with your preschool Sunday school class with these fun Bible crafts. They are specially designed for small hands, so children get instant satisfaction that they can create wonderful projects.

Stuffed Pumpkins

This is an easy craft that looks so lifelike when it is completed. Preschoolers will have a blast working with paints and other materials. You will need a grocery bag for each child, orange tempera paint, green tempera paint, large paintbrushes, raffia, and old newspapers. Have the children stuff old newspapers into a grocery bag. Let them fill up the bag about half the way (or less if you prefer). Bunch up the point where the newspaper pile ends and tie tight with raffia. Cut off the remaining bag that is above the raffia, making it shaped like leaves. Use what you have cut off to fashion a stem. You will not need to paint the stem because it is already brown. Now have the children paint the pumpkins orange and the leaves green. Stick the stem into the top center of the pumpkin pushing it down as far as you can to secure it. Let it dry. This craft goes well with any Bible lesson about harvest.

Apple Butterfly Pictures

This is a particularly fun craft for preschoolers. Apples are at their best in the Fall, so why not use some juicy apples to make a cool craft? Have extra apples available as a snack for this class. For the craft you will need apples cut in vertical slices, red acrylic paint, paintbrushes, cardstock paper (colored, optional), and crayons. Give each child a slice of an apple. Have them paint the meat of the apple with red acrylic paint. Then they will press the apple onto a sheet of cardstock paper towards the left side of the sheet to make an imprint. Fold the paper in half to create a symmetrical imprint on the right side of the paper. This should look like a butterfly. Have the children use crayons to add features to their butterflies, like antennae, legs, and even a background. For this project, it is best if you have a sample ready to show your class what it can look like when finished. This craft goes along with Bible lessons about Creation and/or harvest.

Fall Trees

This is a fun Fall craft for preschoolers. You will need pre-pressed leaves that you bring in from home. To press leaves, simply place each leaf between layers of wax paper. Iron the leaves to make them nice and flat. For this project, be sure to pick small leaves. In class you will need poster board paper, crayons, and glue sticks. Trace a child's hand and forearm on poster board to create a tree. The forearm will be the tree trunk and fingers will be branches. Have the children glue on the leaves to the branches (fingers). Let them color the trunk with crayons. If time allows, they can draw grass, a sun, and other features on their picture. Parents will get a kick out of seeing this craft. It makes a good choice when teaching about Creation, harvest, or even Zaccheus.

Making crafts is a staple in Sunday school class. Teachers get in a rut of making the same old things year after year. Hopefully, these crafts will bring some new ideas to your classroom. Have fun creating with your preschoolers.

Bible Games - Two Activities to Enhance Your Sunday School Class

Sunday school is something that your congregation's youth should look forward to. It's a time for Bible games, crafts, and Bible activities. Here are a couple of activities perfect for children's church.

My Rock Sunday School Craft

This Bible game is more of a craft, and it gives your children's church class a daily reminder to always trust Jesus. For this Sunday school craft, you'll need the following for each student:

*A flat rock or stone about the size of your palm
*Acrylic paints
*Fine pointed brushes
*Felt
*Scissors
*Clear glue

First, have the Sunday school class clean their rock's surface and dry it. Then have them paint these words on the rock with a color of their choice: "Jesus is my Rock and I am trusting Him!" In order to ensure that the words will fit, first pencil them on the rock before painting. Use a fine-pointed brush to paint the words, and then set aside the rock so it can dry. Then glue a circle of felt to the bottom of the rock to create the perfect paperweight!

Helping Hands Bible Activity

Before children's church class starts, write down a variety of scenarios where a person would need assistance. Fold up each of the pieces of paper with the scenario on it and put them in a basket. Ask the class to partner up, and then have one child from each pair reach into the basket and pull out a piece of paper.

The object of the Bible game is to be someone's helper. The child who drew the paper would read the scenario aloud, and then the pair will work together, without speaking to one another, to figure out how to solve the problem. One example of a scenario is: "Your partner has an untied shoe. You each only have one hand to use. Help your partner tie his/her shoe." Your Sunday school class will walk away from this Bible activity with enhanced communication skills and with the great feeling that comes with helping another person.

These are just two Bible activities that are sure to spice up your Sunday school class!

How to Start a Preschool Sunday School Class

It is not hard to start a Sunday school class for preschoolers. Once you have passed the idea by your minister and/or elders put an ad in the church bulletin that you are starting a program, and ask for volunteers to assist you. It really is that easy, but here is some more in-depth information to get a class started smoothly.

How to Start

Find out how many parents are interested in this. Gather together a list of names and phone numbers. You can put a sign-up sheet in the foyer of the church. Once you find out how many children there will be, you will then know how much assistance you will need.

Find a suitable available room to hold your class. An ideal room should have a bathroom for small children, or at least be close to a central bathroom in the church. Many preschoolers are either potty trained or in the midst of being trained.

Before you can start your preschool Sunday school class, you will need to be prepared. Get the room all ready and all your needed supplies before starting your class. You want the children to be excited when they start this new class, and you want parents to know that they are in a good Christian environment.

What You Will Need

The first concern is safety. Have matching name tags for the preschoolers and the parents. This way you will know who goes with who. There will be no chance of someone else taking a kid that does not belong to him.

To start with, be sure and have small tables and chairs. Arrange the tables and chairs so that there is a place for them to move around. Get a nice selection of Christian storybooks and art supplies. Be sure and have some activities where the kids can move around.

You may want to get a soft mat or rug for them to sit on during Bible story time. Use the tables for doing arts and crafts.

It is a good idea to get a felt storyboard to help teach your lessons. Preschooler love visuals. You can find many felt made stories in Christian bookstores or online. Young children also enjoy object lessons where they can touch and feel things that help them remember what they learn during lessons.

Lesson Plans

You will need to have some lesson plans ready before you start. There are some good online resources for ideas on lesson plans, as well as arts and craft ideas and things you can print out. You can also purchase pre-made lesson plans through places like Standard Publishing, Gospel Light, and other well-known curriculum publishers. Keep in mind that preschoolers are very active and will not want to sit still for long periods of time. A typical lesson plan for preschoolers would be something like this:

Start off by singing a few simple songs. Jesus Loves Me is a good one to start with.
Have coloring sheets and crayons ready on the tables before the children come in. Print out coloring sheets that pertain to your lesson. Let the children sit and color the picture.
Have the children sit in front of you on the floor for story time. Bible story time should only be about 10 or 15 minutes. Get them involved by asking a few discussion questions about the story.
Teach your class a relative Bible verse for memory practice.
Arts and crafts project relating to story or play a game.
Have a prayer.
Snack time.

Some ideas for stories would be Noah's Ark, the story of Zacchaeus, Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand, David and Goliath, and many others. There are also some really nice stories for preschoolers that will teach about life's lessons. There are stories about how to pray and how God loves you.

Starting a preschool Sunday school class can be a lot of work, but it has wonderful rewards. You will be teaching young minds about God and Jesus in a language that they can understand.

Sunday School Crafts - Unleash Your Students' Creative Side

Students in children's ministry should look forward to each class. However, this is improbable if you stick to boring and dry lesson plans. Try incorporating these Sunday school crafts into your curriculum to get your students excited about learning!

Bad Attitude Box Church Craft

For this idea, you'll need the following materials:

*Colored construction paper
*Permanent markers
*A small, hinged box for each student
*Ribbon

Before you want to begin this Sunday school craft, cut the paper into pieces that will easily fit inside the boxes. Now instruct your children's ministry class to write one bad attitude (such as greed, selfishness, cruelty, etc.) on each piece of paper. After each child has a few "bad behaviors" inside their box, help them write "(Name)'s Bad Attitude Box" on the top of the box.

Have your class write on a separate piece of paper "List of contents:" with all of the "bad behaviors" that are included in the box. Glue the list of contents onto the bottom of the box and tie it up with a ribbon. Now explain to your students that as long as the ribbon is tied on this church craft, bad attitudes can't be with us!

Basket of Bible Verses Sunday School Idea

You'll need the following for this Sunday school craft:

*Blue, pink, yellow, purple and green construction paper
*Stickers
*Scissors
*Glue

Before your children's ministry class start, cut a basket shape out of the yellow construction paper for each child. Now cut egg shapes out of the other paper colors. Instruct your students to complete the church craft by writing their favorite Bible verses on the eggs. Then help them glue the eggs onto their basket shape and allow them to go wild decorating their basket full of eggs. This Sunday school craft is Especially popular during the Easter period.

These are just two ideas for Sunday school, the class can try to look at the next Children's Ministry. It 'important to keep students' attention when they are taught the word of the Lord comes. Church craft like this are definitely excited to have your students!

Sunday School - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." From experience of going to Sunday School as a child, through my teenage years and now as a youth worker, little seems to have changed. We are in danger of translating the above verse to "Sunday School the same yesterday, today and forever." Without change there may not be a Sunday School tomorrow.

The Sunday School movement as a whole throughout the world has focused on teaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. Telling the well known bible stories like Daniel in the Lion's Den and David and Goliath. This is the part of Sunday School that must not change, that of the Good News - Jesus Christ died for our sins and he defeated the power of sin and death by rising to eternal life. Through this risen life we have hope that we too can have eternal life. That message remains the same yesterday, today and forever.

What we need to think about is the way the content of our faith is delivered or taught. It should be different from 30-40 years ago and tomorrow's technology will change it again. As language, images, culture and other influences come into our lives it changes how we reach a new generation. A generation that will understand and embrace what is being taught.

Over the years teaching methods have changed from lecturing through to discussion. Yet another method was to combine teaching with activity. Learning centres, where boys and girls rotate, teachers taking responsibility for one particular centre. This can be utilised for groups across the age spectrum and is particular helpful in smaller congregations.

Some questions to ask yourself are:

How has the teaching message changed in the Sunday School you attend?

If you teach how have your methods changed over the years?

What teaching methods do you think will be used tomorrow?

What do you think teaching in the Sunday School will look like tomorrow?

The inventions or creations that have had the greatest impact on our world are:

1) Language - the ability to communicate one with another and to understand each other.

2) The printing press - enabled mass production of books and literature which led to increased
knowledge and education for the average person. The bible was made available for people
to read God's word for themselves.

3) Knowledge - the explosion of the computer with internet connection. Most people now have
a computer in their home. Children use it at school and college. The internet is second
nature to young people and they use it in ways the older generation are just learning about.

The story was told of the President of a seminary college who had tried to get his son to read the bible. However, he was not interested. So one day he purchased an electronic bible from a Christian bookshop. Whilst he had no idea how to use it he gave it his son saying "Here is something you might like to use." Once his son had started to use it, his father couldn't get it out of his hands. He started to study and learn bible verses asking his father questions as he read the different passages. His father had found the key which unlocked the method of learning his son understood and enjoyed.

How many of us have computers? How many of us have computers in our church? Has the computer had an impact on your Sunday School yet? As our children and young people use computers in the home and at school, can we use it as a tool in Sunday School? The knowledge explosion has only just begun and has not really impacted us yet, but this may well create changes for the Sunday School of tomorrow.

The content of our teaching - the Good News of Jesus Christ should not change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. The task is to effectively communicate to children and young people this message in a way that they understand. This will mean changing the teaching method of today and particularly for tomorrow. Are you ready?

Christian Sunday School - Two Ways to Get Your Students Interested and Involved

Christian Sunday school is an opportunity for the young people of the congregation to get a better understanding of their faith and the teachings of the Bible. There are many different, interactive Bible games that you can employ during a typical Sunday school class. Here are two Bible activities for you to utilize.

"The Humble and the Proud" Sunday School Activity

This lesson helps demonstrate to your children's liturgy the difference between pride and humility. In order to conduct this Bible lesson, you'll need plain paper and pencils, crayons or markers.

First, have your Christian Sunday school class follow along in their Bibles as you read aloud the story about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:10-14. Then, have your children's church students go back over the story while drawing a picture illustrating the differences between the two men. Give the kids about ten minutes to finish up their picture, and then have each student pass his or her picture to the person on their right. Next, have each student discuss the positive aspects of the illustration they have been handed.

The lesson here is to understand that when we brag about what we have or look down on those who are less fortunate, we are giving God the message that He isn't important to us. On the other hand, if we live a humble life before God, we are admitting to Him that we will always need his guidance.

"Picture it for Jesus" Bible Craft

For this idea for Sunday school, you'll need to ask your students to bring five or six small items from home. You'll also need enough shoe box lids for each child, rubber cement, hole punches, glue sticks, yarn, string, construction paper, and other decorating materials. You must plan this activity in advance, so be sure to ask your children's liturgy students about bringing in the items the week before you plan on conducting this activity.

The objects that your students bring into class should remind them about Jesus, and they should be small items-no larger than three or four inches. (If your students need some ideas, you can suggest a photograph, a cross, candy, a large nail, etc.) During your children's church class, have your students glue the items onto the shoe box lid to create a 3-D picture.

Punch two holes at the top of the shoe box lid and tie string or yarn to make a hanger for the 3-D work of art. After the kids glue their items onto the lid, explain to them that they can write a brief explanation of why each item reminds them of Jesus. For example, if a student brings in a broken watch, his caption could say "Jesus is everlasting." If another child brings in a plastic spoon, she could write "Jesus feeds us" next to it.

The Bible lesson here is to have fun and spark your students' creativity while helping them to think about Jesus and how the items in their daily lives can remind them of him.

These are just two great ways to get your Christian Sunday school class interested and involved in learning about your religion.

Sunday School Lessons - Make an Impact With These Bible Activities

Any teacher will agree that the main focus of children's liturgy is the teaching of Sunday school lessons. The major challenge is finding a way to make the lessons relatable to your students while also making them fun and interactive. Give these Bible activities a try if you're ready for something new!

I Know You Bible Activity

For this Sunday school lesson, you'll need the following for each student:

*One full sheet of blank Paper
* Pencil

First, the class of your children break into groups ministry of four or five. Ask each group to sit together at separate tables or in a circle on the floor. Assign each group to look around at other students in their group. Ask them to write the first name of each student in their group. Now ask them to write something nice about each student next to their name. It 'important that students write something positive about their groupmembers.

Once all of the group members have finished writing, instruct each student to pass their paper to the person on their right. Each group member should find his or her name and read what was written about them. They should continue passing the papers around until they receive their original paper.

Explain the Sunday school lesson by saying that Jesus is the example we have of love. He saw people in a positive light, and that's how we should all view each other.

Bible Verse Bookmarks for Your Children's Ministry

You'll need the following for this Sunday school lesson activity:

*Heavy construction paper
*Thin ribbon
*Scissors
*Hole punch
*Glue
*Sequins
*Markers
*Other decorating items

Before your children's ministry class starts, cut the sturdy construction paper into bookmark-shaped rectangles (one for each student). Next, print a Bible verse relating to that day's Sunday school lesson on each bookmark. Punch a hole at the top of each bookmark and tie the ribbon through the hole. Provide the class with markers and other decorating items and allow them to unleash their creativity! Your class will love taking their bookmark home to use in their Bible or favorite books.

Lessons for Sunday School - Engaging Visual and Interactive Learners

When teaching children's Sunday school, it is important to remember that everyone learns in a different way. By engaging children on more than one sensory level, teachers can ensure that they are presenting the optimal learning environment for everyone. Children remember experiences more than they remember lessons. If a teacher can make a Sunday school class an interactive or visual experience, then children will retain the stories for the rest of their lives!

These Sunday school lessons get the children involved, teach them through multiple senses, and can be adapted for various age levels:

Puppet Show

Children love puppets, and making puppets to act out stories is a great way to incorporate a craft element in a Bible lesson. For this class, you will need at least two paper bags for each child; craft items to decorate the bags, like googly eyes, yarn for hair, and construction paper or felt for clothes; and a Bible story that mainly features two people.

Begin the class by reading the Bible lesson. Once the story is finished, tell the children that they will be making puppets to represent the people in the story. Ideally you could show puppets that you've already made to show how to use the flap in the bag as a mouth, but make sure to encourage the kids to get creative and make their puppets however they want.

While the children start making their puppets, talk about the Bible lesson. Ask questions to see what they understood and what you might need to discuss further. Try to relate the story to something they might understand in their own lives. Once the puppets are finished, have the kids take turns acting out the story as they remember it.

Felt Board

This Sunday school idea can involve various age groups and can be as big or little as you want it to be. The felt board is a large piece of felt that works as a background and has smaller pieces of felt that stick to the board that can be used to create scenes and act out stories. Felt board kits can be bought at various craft stores and online, but making it can be a fun project in itself.

Start by deciding how big you want the board to be. If you're thinking the felt board might be used over a long period of time, then one fun idea is to devote one wall of the Sunday school classroom to the board. Kids love the idea of a big space that they can interact with, and it allows for more than one scene to be represented at a time.

Once you have bought the felt you need for the background and to make the smaller pieces, you can start getting creative. Ask the youth group or crafty members of the congregation if they would like to help create felt items, like houses, trees, people, and clothing.

Now the children can use the board to visually create the Bible lessons they learned about in Sunday school!

To select Sunday School Curriculum

The bottom line in evaluating Sunday school curriculum is to write. You, your selection committee, and your church leadership for the program, the criteria for the selection of the best for your Sunday School Curriculum. Designing an evaluation form to compare your options. With a properly prepared evaluation form after selecting your winners, you can safely declare that the choice for those who need to know.

Prepare aScorecard

A scorecard is a tool to persecute you, and to compare the properties of the various curricula have considered. Before you can plan, you must have both goals and determine your bonds.

What is the impact in the lives of your students by the end of the year, had to do: to identify their goals, start by answering this question? With his eyes fixed on this answer:

Consider your learning goals. While it is importantTheir church, the children with a range of courses, content of the Bible in a year, a program to explore the Bible story for several weeks every treaty in detail would have had a poor measure.
Consider your physical space. How many classrooms are there? How big? If you're short on space, then the materials that are more "work" in each class may not be reasonable.
Consider having your staff available, as many teachers and support teachers to be?
Consider yourBudget. How much money you can realistically spend on materials?

Next, determine the key features of curriculum for the program. Here are some pages of the application, you can include an assessment of your Sunday school curriculum.

Conceptual content

Sunday School curriculum is the product of a particular cut?
What is the theological position?
It is the biblical content and true art and consistent with Scripture?
What is the balance between the Old and New Testaments?
And 'this lectionary based curriculum?
If this is a comprehensive curriculum, when it comes to race, socioeconomic status, gender and disability?
These are the lessons of practice?

Physical content - What is the curriculum actually included this Sunday?

Teacher's Guide?
Lesson plans?
What to do?
Song sheets?
Profession?
Cassette, CD or video?
Working memory?
Games?
Take homeStudent materials?

Public

And 'this Sunday at appropriate curriculum, the teaching will be in old age?
It 'attractive?
How effective are the materials? Children will learn what is shown?

If you have a small church, consider:

These are the games for more than 10 children mean?
These are the jobs or activities require help?
What is with expensive materials?
When courses are working with multi-age groups?

Teacher Resources

And 'Sunday School teacher-friendly curriculum?
For new and experienced teachers?
How much teacher preparation is necessary?

Parental involvement

If the Sunday School curriculum is designed so parents are encouraged to be involved in spiritual formation, in his son?
There together, "take home" materials for parents to serve as a family of having to reinforce the lesson?

Costs

Can this> Sunday curriculum even more than before?
What is the physical quality of the product? The materials until you need it?
How does the price compared to other school curricula Sunday?
In assessing the costs, remember, the material contained in a factor, as well as additional cost items, if you buy them probably.

You can get more questions relevant to your situation or your religion. What is importantis to work with a frame.

Add weights to the evaluation board

After all factors (questions) list, you must decide the relative importance of each, using a scale of 1-5. For example, to the question: "There," "materials together to serve the parents as a family, the lesson to increase the" take home? could answer yes is worth five points, while no node would. (In these examples, the points are more and better curriculum. YouIt could in the opposite direction, if you wanted.)

For things such as cost, you should have both a burden and a level of support. For example, if the Sunday school budget is generous, maybe you could assign a cost weight of three. It could cost clip of it if you do not pay more than $ 26 per student per year: [0 - $ 3.99] => three [$ 4 to 12.99] => two [$ 13 - $ 25.99 ] =>, and [$ 26 and up] => zero.

An example of a crown

CurriculumA:

Lectionary-based: Yes (5 points), Take Home Materials: Yes (3 points) and costs $ 10 for students (4 times 3 = 12 points): Total score: 20 points

Curriculum B:

Lectionary-based: No (0 points), Take Home Materials: No (0 points) and costs $ 2.50 per student (5 x 3 = 15 points): Total score: 15 points

Although curriculum is much cheaper B A program, a curriculum scored higher. A program can be selected with confidence.

Bible Games - to involve students in this school Sunday activities

church class you child will learn the teachings of the Bible, but also your students want to have fun at the same time! When Sunday School activities include Bible, interactive games and interesting in your resume, you are sure to capture the attention of your students.

Answers not to mention Sunday school activities

This Sunday school activities is a great way to keep the Church of students from your childreninteract with each other and use their reasoning skills. For this game the Bible, you must do the following:

* Piece of Fruit
* Cup of water
* Hand-drawn map of the church
* Index cards
* Image of a stop sign

Before your child starts the Church of class, hand-draw a map of your Church. Write these questions on the sheet:

* I'm hungry, can you help?
* I have my water system. Can you help?
* I would like to join a gang. What do you think?
* I am at your church, as if thethe sanctuary, so I can participate?

Commencement of operations at Children's Church

Ask for two volunteers, and insert the card, water, fruit and stop sign on the table. So the cards Sunday school activities to the first student and ask him / her students questions about the second. Not to mention, is the second volunteer to use the items on the table to answer questions. See how creative they obtained during the two students ask and answerquestions.

After requests to go through the game of the Bible says that the cup of water and fruit to symbolize how God provides for our physical needs. He shows us that he, as he provides us with food, drinks, medicines and shelter. The image of the stop sign and the board to symbolize how God speaks to us through the Bible. The Bible is like a map or instructions for our lives. Now explain that God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. This is whatmakes us feel bad when we do something wrong. This is also the part of us that we feel happy when we do something right and praise God does.

Arts & Crafts Fall Sunday school for preschool children

Autumn is an exciting time of year with all the bright colors of the leaves, the smells, the sign of this special time of year. Here's your chance to create some memories fall craft with your class with these fun preschool Sunday Bible. They are designed specifically for small hands, so children will be instant gratification that create wonderful projects.

Stuffed squash

This is a simple job, looks so realisticwhen it is completed. preschool children is an explosion of color and working of other materials. You will receive a shopping bag for every child, orange tempera paint, green paint tempera, large brushes, old newspapers cortex and needs. Ask the children to stuff old newspapers in a shopping bag. They can fill the bag about half (or less if you prefer). Bunch, to the point where it ends the paper pile and tie with raffia fixed. Cut the remaining case, which is above the bark so thatshaped leaves. Use what you have cut from a master mode. Do not paint on the trunk, because it is already brown. Now the children paint pumpkins and orange leaves are green. Paste press the stem at the top center of the pumpkin down as much as possible to safety. Allow to dry. This job goes well with any collection of biblical lesson.

Apple Butterfly Pictures

This is a particularly fun craft for preschoolers. Applesat their best in autumn, so why not use some juicy apples fresh artisan? Apples are available as an extra snack for the class. For the trade you need crayons apples cut into vertical slices, red acrylic paint, brushes, paper, cardboard (color optional), e. Give each child a piece of an apple. They have to paint the flesh of the apple red with acrylic paint. Then they push the apple on a sheet of cardboard paper on the left side of the sheetimpression. Fold the paper in half to create a symmetrical print on the right side of the paper. This should resemble a butterfly. Let the children use crayons to add features to their butterflies, such as antennae, legs and even a background. For this project it is best if you have a sample, the class, what they can, as if to show how you look. This craft goes along with Bible lessons about creating and / or collection.

Trees fall

This is a fun autumnCrafts for preschoolers. Before you take the leaves that are put down at home. Press can, simply place each leaf between sheets of baking paper. Iron leaves, quite flat. For this project, be sure to pick small leaves. In the class, you will need poster board, crayons and glue sticks. Draw a child by the hand and forearm to poster board to create a tree. The forearm is the trunk and branches fingers. Let the children glue on the leaves ofBranches (fingers). Let me paint the trunk with crayons. If time permits, we can draw grass, sun, and other functions on their image. Parents get to see a kick out of this business. It makes a good choice when teaching on the creation, collection, or of Zacchaeus.

Making crafts are a staple in the Sunday school class. Teachers get in a rut doing the same things year after year. We hope that these skills bring some 'new ideas of yourClassroom. Have fun creating with your preschoolers.

Sunday School Crafts - 3 ideas to add creativity to your lessons

Children's Church is a place for children of all ages to learn the lessons of the biblical faith and their Church. Sunday School Crafts aid, a learning process fun and creative.

Bee Craft Body Church Thumb

This skill is repeated the doctrine that Jesus and the children are all special. First you have the supplies, which collect: stick a stamp and ink pad, markers, glue, white and yellowConstruction paper, soap and water for cleaning.

Before starting your class, you write: "I can thumb-bee Jesus 'body' at the top of the building pieces of white paper. If you are ready to begin your paper crafts to help children in Bible class, you use the building pad ink for a number of fingerprints on her.

Next, help them glue (oval cut yellow construction paper) for the "wings" to create their bees. Well, the children in your Sunday schoolClass for their bees decorative pins, antennae and body decorations.

'S Rainbow Bible God Craft

For this Sunday school crafts, paper plate and they should, such as pens and markers, how much can be achieved. Before class begins, cut from flat sheets of paper, the goal is to make the figures look like a rainbow. Scripture: "God keeps his promises" on every rainbow with a black marker.

Food pre rainbows on your childrenClass, and decorate and paint your own rainbow, as it suits him. You can add a rainbow to create with the children to show them how to use one color at a time to create a rainbow colored. The point of this Sunday school activities, child care is promising to remember with something you can look at them every day that God always Seine.

Bracelet Bible Activities

You need a stapler, cardboard, pens and decoratingMaterials for this Sunday school crafts. Let your class to cut the paper into two-inch string. Then he helped write: "With God all things are possible!" On their paper. Give them time to decorate her bracelet, and then staple the paper together around the wrist. This bracelet is a great place for his school to take home Sunday.

These are just three of the many different crafts to share with your churchClass.