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Matthew 18:20


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It will be nice to see who is writing from where! :o)

<>< <>< SSTN-Volume 1-Number 100 <>< <><
September 29, 2000
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
1) Teaching very young kids
2) Moses Craft idea?
3)
Didn't Go As Planned!!
4) Iron-Ons
5) Lock in
6)
Didn't Go As Planned
7) Didn't Go As Planned
8) Lock in

* WHEN POSTING YOUR MESSAGES: Use upper and lower case letters,
and a standard black font style such as 'Arial'. Thank you!

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1) Teaching very young kids

My mother always reminds me that when she taught one year olds, back in the dark ages when I was one, :o)))-- she began to teach the first three questions from the Children's Catechism: 1) Who made you? (answer: God), 2) What else did God make? (God made all things), 3) Why did God make all things? (For His own glory).

My mom claims that by the end of the year all her one year old students could answer those three basic questions! Also, having taught young kids myself, and in the process of raising three of my own, I've found that kids can memorize just about anything if they hear it repeated often enough. Have them memorize Scripture and earn stars for doing it. The 23rd Psalm is a great one for starters! I always loved using the Wee-Sing Bible Songs too...which by the way are available in the Bookstore. ;o)

In a few weeks I will be placing the Children's Catechism in the site...in the meantime, check out www.reformed.org for more on this!

In His grip,
Sarah Keith - Your Moderator<><
Lake Park, FL

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2) Moses Craft idea?

On Sunday mornings we have about 15 minutes before the children's church starts where we have a craft or activity. It is my job to organize that time. In a couple of weeks the lesson will be Moses and the burning bush and that God is always working around us in the world so we need to pay attention to where he wants to use us. The bible memory verse for that week is "If from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him" Duet.4:29.
If someone could please help me with a craft idea for this I would appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.
Lori
Palm Harbor, FL

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3)
Didn't Go As Planned!!

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I would like this to be a fun learning adventure for the children, as well as myself. Any > advice would be greatly appreciated.

Don't be discouraged. That is a rough age to teach. They have a very short attention span and plan for some playtime. (especially th 3 yr olds.) You have to remember that even Kindergarden has problems with scissors so plan very easy crafts and have a fun action song planned. I hope you have a helper. It's always nice for crowd control.
God bless, Joni

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OLD ADDRESSES PLUG UP THE EXCHANGE!!
Please notify me if you change your email address, even if that
means unsubscribing, then resubscribing. Thanks!
Sarah Keith-Your Moderator <><
Sakeith@aol.com

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4)
Iron-Ons

Teresa, if you find pictures that you like, scan them into your computer
and print them on iron-on transfer paper. Better yet, if you find pictures
on-line, you don't have to do any scanning! The iron-on transfers are
available at OfficeMax, OfficeDepot & Staples for about $10-$15 for 10
transfers. If you don't have one of these office supply stores in your
area, you can purchase them on-line at www.staples.com or
www.officedepot.com or www.officemax.com.

You can add text to the bottom of the picture (like the date, name of the
program and church). We had a very small church in rural St. Louis, MO and
used this to create t-shirts for special events and for our children's
ministry volunteers. Works very, very well! Cost for each t-shirt would be
about $1.00 - $1.50 plus cost of the shirt, which comes out to be a very
inexpensive item. We utilized these for tote bags, handkerchiefs, ball caps
and even banners -- the uses are almost limitless. God bless as you
minister to His little ones!!

Tina Jackson
Peachtree City, GA
revjacks@yahoo.com

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5)
Lock in

In response to the "Lock In". My husband and I have done a lock in at our
church (Sylvester, Ga.) with our youth group and we are planning another
coming up in October. Our church is gracious enough to sponsor a local
christian band to come in and play for a few hours. The band begins playing
around 10:30 and goes until around 12:30 or 1:00am. We have a snack after
that and then play a few games like scavenger hunt and we even play hide and
go seek outside. Then we go bowling from 3:00-5:00am. Then it's back to
the church for clean up and breakfast. Parents begin picking up children
around 7am. We have a wonderful time and our local bowling alley gives us
very reasonable rates to open up at that hour for our group. We average 35
to 40 on events like this. When we don't have a band playing we play
"Putt-Putt" at another local place. There are several businesses that are
willing to open up all hours of the night......you would be very surprised.
Skating is another option. Hope this helps!
Virginia Evans

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6) Didn't Go As Planned

In response to Didn't Go As Planned:

I work as a leader for 3-5 year olds and we start off singing... about 5 -10 minutes of children type action songs then slow it down... some of the songs we use are "Thumb body special" , " The wise man " , "Jesus Loves Me" , and then for a calming song we sing Jesus in me.... after that .. bathroom break.. then. when they come back we do story time.... suggestion... PUPPETS...... nothing extravagent.. but something eyecatching.. I use a bear .. they are mezmerized.

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7)
Didn't Go As Planned!!

> I just had my first class but it didn't go as I had planned.

Response: My husband and I started teaching 2-4 year olds last year and our first
class was exactly as you described. Within a few weeks we figured out what
works for us. Now our class goes something like this: 5-10 minutes of free
play (this makes it easier for new children to leave parents and allows time
for late comers.) Next, we prepare for the bible story with "help" from the
children by pulling out carpet squares for them to sit on the floor. We
keep their attention by encouraging them to comment on how the story relates
to them. Not everyone participates or even listens, but that's O.K. as long
as they are not disruptive. Anyone being loud or distracting to the others
gets an invitation to re-join the group along with a friendly warning. If
that doesn't work, my husband helps them with "time out" which is sitting in
a nearby chair for a few minutes (this is rare.) Next, the class sits at
tables to prepare a lesson-related craft. Coloring pages are available for
children who finish early. Next, we play a bible memory verse game. Just
about any game can be adapted for this, but our kids love to play a game
where we march in a circle to music, when the music stops, the child
standing on "X" says the memory verse, repeat until everyone gets a turn.
Other favorite games include Musical Chairs, and using a tape recorder so
they hear themselves saying the verse. By this time, they are usually
really focused. Finally, during a light snack, we talk about what they
learned that day. Since everyone sits still for snack time, parents come
back to find their little angels being soooo good! Sorry for the long
message, but hang in there . . . our teaching experience has been such a
blessing for us!

Kim - Nashville, TN

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8)
Lock in

I highly recommend the "Serendipity Encyclopedia" by Lyman Coleman. It is chock full of game ideas, group sharing Bible studies, interactive exercises, communication activities -- for all ages. It even shows you how to plan it, organize it and run it!!
I love this book.


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--Copyright 2000 S.A. Keith--All Rights Reserved.

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IMPORTANT INFO-PLEASE READ: (Especially for newcomers!)

* If at all possible, try to post your questions two weeks in advance. That way it will appear in the newsletter in a timely manner, and you'll receive your response before you need it.

Don't forget about the availability of free Bible Games & Skits, Children's Sermons and Christian Crafts at ChristianCrafters.Com! If you have a Bible game, sermon, or Christian craft that you've created, email me, Sarah Keith, and share it with the rest of the world in my website!

You can access past SSTN letters:
Go to www.ChristianCrafters.Com and click on 'Archives List'.
You can find the link near the bottom of the home page.

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--Copyright 2000 S.A. Keith--
(The opinions expressed in the SSTN e-Newsletter are not necessarily endorsed by ChristianCrafters.Com. SSTN reserves the right to edit and or exclude information from the SSTN e-Newsletter. You can read a short 'bio' regarding Sarah Keith, founder of the SSTN, by clicking on the copyright info at the bottom of the home page of ChristianCrafters.Com

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