Thursday, January 12, 2017

Thanks for Your Commit-"mint"


I saw this idea for appreciating workers on Pinterest and tweaked it a little. You can find the original posts here and here.

Basically you purchase different types of mints. York Peppermint Pattys, Mentos, Andes, Lifesaver mints, peppermint gum, hard peppermints and so on.

Monday, January 9, 2017

Feeding Elijah - Part 3



This was a fun themed review game for stories about how God fed Elijah during the three and one half years of no rain in Israel.  I like this review game for two reasons. First, it provides visual reinforcement of the story (God fed Elijah bread). Second, I like to have the kids do something active during a Bible lesson.

I put slices of bread in sandwich sized Ziploc bags and the kids tossed them into the hole if they answered a question right. Each kid had three tries.

I let the early arrival kids help make Elijah as a pre-session activity. They drew the face and hands (we actually let 2 of the kids trace their own hands). I had the board ready before class and then we just glued on the parts after the kids made them.

For part 1 of the Feeding Elijah lessons click here. For part 2 click here.

The idea for this game came from a Pinterest pin.


Sunday, January 8, 2017

Feeding Elijah - The Widow Part 2


This is part 2 of Feeding Elijah. Part 1 is here. I used props and story telling for part II. Lifeway has an excellent blog on Bible storytelling that includes 6 steps of preparation for telling the story.

I acted out parts of the story as I told it, and then had 2 props I brought out at the appropriate time.

You always know when you have engaged your kids when they start to question things from the story. They wanted to know if you could really make bread with just oil and flour. I googled it, and sure enough, you can. Click here for the recipe and full instructions.

Recipe:
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1/2 cup water

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Feeding Elijah - Life Size Diorama Part I


When you think about it, God fed Elijah for three and a half years through various means. First there was the Kerith Ravine or Valley with the ravens and brook. When that dried up, there was the widow with the bottomless jar of flour and oil.

I used flannel-graph, a life-size diorama and props to tell these Bible stories.

For the diorama, I decoarated one of our classrooms to look like the Kidron Valley. I explain what I did in this video. The ravens are really crows I bought after Halloween on sale at Joanne Fabrics. Michael's carries similar items. The only other things I used were plastic table clothes and salvaged brown packing paper to make the river bed and the mountains.



I broke this story into 2 weeks. You can read about Part 2, Elijah and the widow, here and see the flannelgraph figures I made here (coming soon). Click here for part 3, a review game you can use with both Elijah stories.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

A Cool Treat for KidMin Workers


I use a Christmas tree each year to hang our kidmin workers gifts on. This year I read about these key fobs from Wendy's. At only $2 a piece, they are a great gift. They attach to a key chain and you can use it at Wendy's to get a free Junior Frosty with any order. So yes, as one of the enterprising workers said, "So, I can order a Junior Frosty, and then I can get one for free for my boyfriend." Now that's a KidFrugal date.

These key tags are good for all of 2017, and the $2 you pay goes to support adoption. It's a win-win.

I include other small gifts on the tree to give our workers a choice. This year's other pickings included Avon balms and hand-creams. I have used K-cups, travel size bubble baths and other small items.

So what have you given your workers for Christmas? We would love to hear your ideas.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Bringing the Ark to Jerusalem


King David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem is another lesson that lends itself to drama. Click here for the outline to act out this story.

I told the story first via power point using Free Bible Images. Then we acted it out in two parts.

Pirate Themed Trunk & Treat

Shiver me timbers and batton down the hatch, it's trunk and treat time and have we got a theme for you. Be sure to check the video out a...