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SSTN - Number 161
March 2, 2001

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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:

1) Armor of God Skit?
2) Recycled Christian materials
3) 10 commandments for 3-5 year olds
4) Wanting to quit
5) One-day children's' program
6) Ten Commandment stickers or bookmarks?
7) Children's church-balloon helicopters?
8) Scavenger Hunts?
9) Teaching the Books of the Bible?
10) Setting up a Jr High ministry?
11) Hard to control class/I feel like quitting
12) Recipes for Sunday School

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***** SSTN HEADS UP MESSAGE *****

>>>>>>>>> NEW NEW NEW <<<<<<<<<<<<<

There's been four new Bible games added to the site!! Check it out on the
Bible games page at: www.ChristianCrafters.Com
Thanks goes to Lucille Dass, one of our SSTN teachers...AND she's new to
the network and already sharing her gifts! Wonderful!

An Easter Play has been added to the site too! Thanks goes to, Debra
Halleck for being willing to share her creativity with SSTN and the world!
Debra's also another new subscriber! Click on: "An Easter Presentation"
from the Christian Skits section at: www.ChristianCrafters.Com to get it.


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1) Armor of God Skit?

Recently, I purchased an Armor of God Bear because the theme for Youth
Church Graduation in April this year is "Armor of God." I thought how
nice it would be if I could find a short skit for the children (ages 4-6)
who will be promoted to Class #2 (7-9). Can you help?
Your Sister in Christ, Ahreita Griffin- Charlotte, NC

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Here's a fun quiz: Read these words, what do they say? "Pill Are Offs
Halt." Do you "hear" the answer? Keep saying them until you can hear:
'Pillar of Salt' (From Genesis 19:25-26) "It's not what you say, it's what
you hear!" when you play 'Bible Mad-Gab'. For more fun challenges like
this, get Bible Mad-Gab, or other great Bible-based games in the GameStore
at ChristianCrafters.Com!

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2) Recycled Christian materials

In reference to recycling Christian materials, there is an organization
called Eagles Nest Ministries that sends Christian materials to 3rd world
countries where English is the second language. India, Kenya, Uganda are
just a few of the countries who receive this literature with joy and
gratitude. Eagles Nest also takes Christian magazines such as Guidepost,
and devotionals. Materials can be sent to:
Eagles Nest Ministries
220 Union St. Butler, Il. 62015.
For more information you can mail to P.O. Box 232, or phone
217-532-6701. God bless you for helping them make Christ known to the
world. BARB

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3) 10 commandments for 3-5 year olds

I also teach 3-5 Sunday school. I am teaching the 10 commandments right
now. I make up my on lessons and am doing pins for the commandment. I am
on number two but I'll share what I've got so far:

#1- I made hearts out of red construction paper and I cut out #1's , on
one side of the hearts I wrote "God is #" and the kids glued on the #1's.
I taped a safety pin on back. The kids loved this and were proud to show
them off. (I always use stick glue. It is easier for the kids and they
enjoy doing it themselves.)

#2- I made copies of a gold budda. I let the kids color it, then cut out a
circle with a line through it glue it to the budda and write "no graven
images".

#3-Cut out a circle from construction paper and little strips. glue the
strips to the sun write on the circle "God is Great!"

#4 cut out a number 7 out of paper, glue it to a square of another color
paper that says "the Sabbath is holy". I haven't figured out the rest yet
but I'll continue and let you know later if you like. Elvishlass

--from SSTN: these are great visuals for kids! #5 could be a ribbon medal
for "Honor Your Mother & Father" The #5 could be placed in the star
portion of the medal. Keep the Sabbath holy could also be a simple picture
of a church.

If anyone wants to add to these please do! Also, Elvishlass, if you or
anyone else has pictures of these, I can then post them into the Crafters
showcase of the site. If you want to share them...Let me know when it's
complete! Love in him, Sarah Keith
www.ChristianCrafters.Com

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.................HELP MAKE SSTN POSSIBLE...HOW?




With a $12.00 per year subscription....that's just a Buck-A-Month!

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4) Wanting to quit

I understand completely what you are going through. I teach children
church and have a large group of siblings. They range in age from 3-14.
When I first started the boys were horrible and the youngest girl cried
the whole class if her sister didn't hold her. One of the middle boys is
on riddlen and ask questions or makes comments that weren't with the
message. I would ask him to hold his questions until later and then answer
them ,but the thing that made the most difference was we started to bribe
them. I give out candy for listening and answering easy questions, also we
let the quietest ones get their snack first. If they want a snack, they
always do, THEY MUST BE QUIET. If worst comes to worst I have corners to
put their noses in. I also tell them that it doesn't matter how loud they
get, I can always get louder. I've only had to prove this a couple of
times. I hope this helps. Don't give up God needs people to teach his
little children. Elvishlass

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5) One-day children's program

We have done this several years and we call it a one day VBS. We usually
give it a flashy name such as "Saturday Spectacular." You can use regular
VBS material as a base, with the kids rotating to different centers
throughout the day. We also provide a sack lunch. Some of our most
effective have involved doing a Bible-times marketplace. We divide the
kids into families (or tribes) with mixed ages. We have turned classrooms
into Bible times homes and provided Bible times food for lunch. We did
Egypt one year, went through the plagues, did Passover (some of the kids
were afraid of the lamb, but it tasted really good once they tried it),
painted the doorposts, and followed Moses across the Red Sea. Try the
website www.marketplace29ad.com for lots of great ideas. It is a lot of
work for that one day, but lots of people are willing to work, especially
the men.

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Do you wanna KIDZOO-SHUFFLE?

Play a fun game of strategy and skill, for children ages 5 and up. Kids
will develop eye-hand coordination, category placement, and depth
perception skills while playing. For more info, go to:
www.todaysfitnessforkids.com
Click on "Products" when you get there!

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6) Ten Commandment stickers or bookmarks?

I am teaching the ten commandments to pre k and K I am using the version
of Nancy Paulson loving God and loving others. I am looking for stickers
and or bookmarks with this version, because it is simple for them to
understand. thanks

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7) Children's church-balloon helicopters?

I teach 6-10 year olds at our church in Delight, Arkansas. I have ordered
some balloon helicopters that will soar into the air and whistle as they
come down. Could anyone please give me an idea on a bible lesson I could
use in connection with these little helicopters? This site has been such a
big help to me. How wonderful that we can
come together and learn from one another great ways of teaching our
children about the Lord. Rhonda

--from SSTN: I want to know where to get those helicopters. ;o))

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8) Scavenger Hunts

You like games. Have you heard of any creative scavenger hunts lately?
I am looking for new/creative scavenger hunt ideas. If you can help,
please email me a couple-word-description (as in: video hunt, airport
hunt, etc.). If I have not heard of your idea or am unclear about what you
mean, I’ll send a reply asking for more info. Otherwise, this will save
you the time it would take to type in details for hunts we’ve already
done. Thanks a million! Marnie Swedberg

--from SSTN: make sure you check the Archives List at
www.christiancrafters.com
for many ideas already given!

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* PRAISE-AMATIONS! (TM)

A fun and unique way for children to praise the LORD. Click on
'Curriculum' from the home page of www.ChristianCrafters.Com
for a FREE pattern and more info...

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9) Teaching the Books of the Bible?

Please let me know of any creative ways to teach 4th graders the books of
the Bible.
I have already read the Bible Buster Relay game and feel this may be too
noisy to use in a classroom setting. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jo Kitchens.

--from SSTN: You can also try: Bible Book Name Game
Go to: www.christiancrafters.com and click on Bible Games to get it.

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10) Setting up a Jr High ministry?

We are splitting our Youth Group into a Jr High and a Sr High group to
become more effective. Do you have any suggestions or resources that you
have found particularly helpful in setting up a Jr High ministry. I am a
lay person and am eager to put together an explosive youth group, but lack
any formal training or resources to draw upon. Your advise and
suggestions
would be greatly appreciated. Any suggestions on things you done or heard
of that has been very successful implemented in terms of teens spiritual
growth. As well as, recreational and social ideas for the kids. We are
still tossing around when and how often we will meet. So, I am open to
all
comments. Thank you so much for your time and any assistance you may
offer.
Sheri Gaul- Melbourne, FL

--from SSTN: make sure you check out the Christian Education section
of the Bookstore at: www.ChristianCrafters.Com
there's some great resource books dealing with this issue!

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11) Hard to control class/I feel like quitting

I too have been teaching a long time (29 years-but I started when I was
14), and the challenges today are far greater than they have been in the
past. Things we use to do are not effective. Make sure your class in
interesting. Change activities often (6-8 minutes). You may have to add
to your curriculum such as adding a game and an object lesson each week,
sometimes an additional craft.

We require our teachers to have 12 hours of "continuing education" each
year. This can be from children's conferences, workshops or ECE classes at
the local Jr. college. By doing this they stay on the cutting edge, are
refreshed, and always have new ideas.

Here's what we do:

Post the rules in each class (we have 5-6 rules per class). Also on the
list "you are responsible for your own behavior. Good behavior=positive
consequences, bad behavior=negative consequences." Go over the rules each
week, reminding the kids that it's their choice. We vary the prizes --
one week we may have seat watchers who put stickers on children who are
participating, another week we hand out clothespins and whomever has
theirs at the end of class gets a prize. Some weeks we have the mystery
prize (a prize in a paper bag) and we draw names, or seat watchers make
suggestions as to who participated and acted well. We have also done king
and queen of the week. We even did this in our preteen class! The kids
chosen get to wear a paper crown (take it home and bring it back next
week), also get a prize.

We too use the 3 strikes method. We escort the child to a front pew in
the sanctuary, so everyone knows what is happening (no slipping in and
hiding in the back and no sitting with parents). The idea is not to
embarrass the child or family, but to have them realize that the child is
disrupting the entire class (and the adult class when they go into the
sanctuary). I use to think we should do whatever to keep the disruptive
child in class. But I learned it is not fair to the children who want to
learn. I also found that often children who are on Ritalin or other
medication for ADD/ADHD do not take their medicine on the weekends (we had
a Mom who did not give it to the kid all summer). I meet with the parents
and explain that they need to give the medication on the weekend, because
it is not fair to the teacher (or the child) if the child is out of
control due to lack of medicine. Some children use this for a reason to
act out. One child told me "I didn't take my medicine this morning so I
won't be good today."

I use this technique in kids crusades. Ask the disruptive child to help
you. Hand him a piece of rope about 15" long. Tell him to stand in a
certain spot and hold the rope over his head with both hands. Keep
teaching. After a while he will ask if he can sit down, because his arms
will get tired. I usually have them stand there a while longer. They
think they are going to help you (and they are-by being quiet), but they
finally figure out what you are doing. hope this helps. Teresa - La
Marque, TX


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12) Recipes for Sunday School

I love to cook, and it is fulfilling to bring SS into the kitchen. One
way we will include children in body life is by assisting them to prepare
recipes to share at our monthly potlucks (I have just started this week as
Sunday School Coordinator) Here are some recipes I have used in the past.

Scripture Cake:
For the recipe, I call out "we need 2 cups 1 Samuel 30:12!" and the kids
look it up. Some verses need deciphering because they mention more than
one possible ingredient. The kids take turns adding ingredients, stirring,
scooping batter into muffin cups.

Cream together: 1 cup of Judges 5:25 (butter), 1 cup Genesis 18:8 (milk or
yogurt), 1 cup Exodus 16:31 (honey) and 6 of Isaiah 10:14 (eggs). Sift
together 3½ cups 1 Kings 4:22 (flour), 2 tsps 1 Corinthians 5:6 (baking
powder or use ½ cup sourdough), 1-2 tsps of 1 Kings 10:10 and Exodus 30:23
(cinnamon or other spices like apple pie or pumpkin pie spice blend), and
a pinch of Leviticus 2:13. Stir into moist ingredients, then add 2 cups
of each ingredient from 1 Samuel 30:12 (raisins and figs, chopped), 2 cups
of Song of Songs 2:5 (apples, chopped), and 1 cup Genesis 43:11 (almonds).
Pour into greased 9x13 pan, loaf pan, or
make muffins. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean,
about 35-45 minutes for a cake pan and 20 minutes for muffins, an hour for
a loaf pan. Cool and serve.

Charoset:
A blend of apples, grape juice, honey, cinnamon and almonds or walnuts- as
may recipes exist as there are cooks. Internet search turns up dozens,
all different. I have a children's cookbook - The Children's Jewish
Holiday Kitchen by Joan Nathan ISBN 0-8052-4130-2, which uses 8 apples,
2/3 cup almonds, 3 Tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, grated rind of
a lemon, and 4 T sweet wine. I never use wine.

Cucumbers, onions and yogurt salad:
Numbers 11:5 and Genesis 18:8 Serve on a pita bread plate, with goat
cheese and black olives for the children to try. Or also make a lentil
stew or soup, serve with pita bread, to go with the story of Esau and
Jacob. I have made pita from scratch, it is too much work for SS in my
opinion.

Warm milk with honey stirred in....Exodus 3:8

Grinding grains:
From Ezekiel 4:9 - wheat, barley, beans, lentils millet and spelt and make
matzah - the grain mixed with a little olive oil, salt, and water until
moist and just holding together, then rolled flat, poked many times with a
fork and baked at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Let it cool. It is like a
rye krisp cracker. If you omit the oil, and from the
time you add the water until it comes out of the oven is under 18 minutes
it is kosher for Passover unless you are Orthodox, then only matzah baked
under the supervision of a Rabbi is kosher for Passover. Messianic Jews
are more tolerant of homemade matzah.

Bible Nutrition Bar
at our Christian book store, based on Deuteronomy 8:8, which lists wheat,
barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olive oil and honey. Adding almonds
from Gen 43:11, and powdered milk and honey from Exodus 3:8, I am going to
try to develop a no-cook recipe. My sons and I used to make a no bake
cookie by mixing peanut butter, honey, orange juice, and powdered milk,
shaping into balls and rolling in graham cracker crumbs. For my SS class
I will make a almond butter with almonds and olive oil (in the blender
with the class), adding grape juice, powdered milk, chopped dates, figs
and raisins to a shapeable consistency and roll in whole wheat and barley
ground together. After I try it out I will share proportions with our
group here.

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