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



Issue #40 - November 23, 2010 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. ~ Jesus

Suggest an idea...Ask a question...Give an answer! Scroll down the page to view articles. 1) Thankful Atheists? 2) Skit for First of Year? 3) Scissors Idea 4) Christmas Party Ideas Invite your friends and coworkers to join us. CLICK HERE! 5) Never Too Soon To Memorize Scripture 6) Discerning the Needy Child? 7) Reward Points The Red Button indicates a teacher who needs your help. Make Christ-filled Ornaments in SIX EASY STEPS! TITLE your email to reflect the content of your message. When replying, highlight the text that is pertinent to your response, then hit reply. Support the Network--learn how--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 Affiliate Bookstore Creative Teaching Seminar F-R-E-E Resources Bible Games Christian Crafts Christian Skits Missions For Kids Object Talks, Sermons Recycling Ideas VBS & Bible Clubs NEED PRAYER? Visit our Prayer Board. Scroll down.







1) Thankful Atheists? You know those times when you've stood gazing at a dazzling, color-filled sunset or the vastness of a star-filled night sky and your heart swelled with praise? You can't help but send up praise--can you? But where does the praise of unbelievers go? You know they must feel it. But where do they send it? Who do they thank? This Thanksgiving, let us remember the greatness of our God who calls us his children, giving us eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to believe! "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Psalm 19:1-4 May God bless you and yours this Thanksgiving 2010! Your webservant, Sarah A Keith SundaySchoolNetwork.com



2) Skit for First of Year? Hello, I am interested in a lovely skit for the first Sunday school program for the year. Any ideas? Mrs. S. Samuel masterpiece_53@hotmail.com







3) Scissors Idea Hi! I'd to share an idea I used a couple weeks ago. Our class setup is such that I prefer not to bring scissors into our weekly craft if at all possible. A couple weeks ago I had a craft page I really wanted to use, but it involved A LOT of cutting. I figured out that I could take a stack of the papers and use a utility knife to cut out the shapes, but leave the corners intact so the kids could pop the shapes out. What you can do is take a stack of print-outs, lay it on some cardboard or newspapers, and make several gentle passes over each line. It doesn't take a lot of pressure if you just go over it a few times instead of trying to do a big chunk at once. I made sure to leave the corners intact. That way the kids could pop them out instead of me having to pass out an abundance of scissors. It worked really well! I hope that can help someone else! Sincerely, Kate



4) Christmas Party Ideas We have a happy birthday Jesus party for our 3- 10 year olds. Every child wraps up and brings a gift they want to give Jesus. (craft heart to symbolize giving Jesus their heart, clock to symbolize giving their time, hand print to symbolize giving their helping hands, food, toys, candy, whatever the children think of is fine.) We have birthday cake with a picture of baby Jesus on it. with candles on it.. We sing happy birthday to Jesus. I twirl around to allow the wind to help Jesus blow out the candles on His cake. Then I (or a a teen ager) tells the Christmas story. Each child is given a piece of the nativity set, and when the piece s/he holds is mentioned s/he comes and puts it in place in or near the stable. Or you could use flannel board nativity figures. Then each child opens and tells about the gift they brought for baby Jesus. Then we play a game, where I or (or a teen) reads a version of the Christmas story with right and left inserted in the story while the children pass around several wrapped gifts. Every time I say right they pass the gifts to the right. Every time I say left they pass the gifts to the left.. When I am done with the story, whoever has the gifts wins them. We often end with a piñata full of candy. We line the kids up youngest to oldest and let each child have 3 tries to break open the piñata. (I put a big full of candy and prizes for each child in the piñata along with loose candy. Each child is allowed to have one bag plus all the loose candy they can find. They makes sure even the littlest ones get something, and yet allows the bigger children to have the fun of scrambling for more.) Sometimes we have the children make gifts, cards, or treats at the party to take to a local retirement home or the nearby fire station, and sometimes the children sing a few Christmas carols when they deliver their gifts. Kathy Norquist



5) Never Too Soon To Memorize Scripture! Wait till you see this little girl tell the story of Jonah! This is the power of the Word of God. Let this video encourage teachers in NOT shrinking back from having your kids memorize Scripture! Its never too late - and its never to early to learn the TRUTHS in God's Word! http://vimeo.com/16404771







6) Discerning the Needy Child? How can I identify the truly needy child? Because there are so many children around the street and all of them are not really needy. Some are fake. So how we can identify the really needy? Varghese



7) Reward Points Children can collect points for any number of things. For example, memorizing Bible verses, bringing a Bible or friend to class, bringing canned goods for the homeless shelter, good behavior, etc. Whatever behavior or action you want to encourage--reward it! Points can be scored using stickers or Bible bucks as mentioned in a previous newsletter. Stickers can be applied to score sheets or booklets.

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