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SSTN # 121 - November 24, 2003
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
--> Christ-filled Ornaments
1) Mouse Play
2) Advent & Jesus' Birthday
3) Snow Globes
4) Christmas Ideas
--> Christmas FunPak...Order now for the holidays!
5) Sheet Music?
6) Christmas Skit
7) Music Machine
8) Happy Birthday Jesus Party
--> Super Heroes of the Bible
9) C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S. letters?
10) Teen Lessons?
11) Bible books
12) Christmas Party
13) Christmas Bulletin Board
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--> Christ-filled Ornaments
Great for Christmas gift-giving or family crafting fun. Get a free sample
and see a video too! Click on "Chrismon Snowflake Ornaments" in the
Curriculum Creatives section at:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
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1) Mouse Play
in response to the play the mouses tail, our sunday
school kids are doing that play this year and we went
to our local library and got the play from them.
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2) Advent & Jesus' Birthday
This Sunday, Nov. 30th, Advent begins! Celebrating Advent is a great way
to mark the birth of Jesus! To learn more about Advent, go to this page:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/adventwreath.htm
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3) Snow Globes
There are some plastic snow globes that you can purchase at Michael's
craft store that already have a religious theme. If you have a good
budget to work with, I believe they are $2 a piece. I recently did some
ocean globes and used baby food jars. They work out great and they are
inexpensive. After you put the contents in the jar, put the lid on and if
you want you can put a small string of hot glue from a hot glue gun around
the jar, but if you don't you should not have a problem leaking.
Lisa
San Diego, CA
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4) Christmas Ideas?
Questions:
Has anyone used glow sticks instead of candles for a kids Christmas
program?
Also, any suggestions on getting a F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely On God) song
published?
Suggestions:
Anyone not familiar with the Jesus Film Project please visit them on the
web at www.jesusforchildren.org We gave one of these to each of our
families as Christmas gifts a couple of years ago. Well worth it to get
the story of Jesus into the homes. Also a great random handout during the
Christmas season!
We also have a small group and have had the most success in using a
commercial program cd for the kids to sing with for our programs. Split
tracks are expensive so we sing along with the voices on the learning cd.
This year our kid's choir members will all have signs to hold up at
appropriate times for a couple of the songs that they have made. We are
using the words JESUS and YES glued back to back. I printed out a full
sized sheet (8.5x11) with open letters on the computer and then copied
them off onto cardstock. The kids then filled in the letters with glue
glitter. Costco has a great set of 12 different containers of glittery
glue!
We have also used cd dialog with puppets. The kids then only have to move
their puppets. Still requires a lot of practice but eliminates the
memorization and keeps the skit moving along. Last year our high
schoolers made their own puppets.
If you are making ornaments, try to include some scripture on them so it
is taken into the homes. During the year, we often do a colorful memory
verse on a fun background and then laminate it for the kids to take home
to put on the fridge.
Program attendance incentive: For several years we have announced to the
kids a gift drawing for one or more families each week for several weeks
before the program. (An inexpensive nativity is a nice gift) Then we
hold a drawing of parents only (preferably parents who don't regularly
attend) during the program internission. Their whole family is then
invited up to the front to receive the gift. An idea for getting the kids
to rehearsals in the weeks before the program is to put their names into a
container for every time they are there. The more times they are there for
rehearsal the more times their name goes in the container. Then have a
drawing during the program. Dividing them into groups by age is also
benefiicial.
Another gift idea.........take individual pictures of the kids in their
costumes and present them to the parents at the program OR have the kids
make ornaments out of them to take home right before Christmas. Be sure
to put the year on them!
Yours in Celebrating Jesus!
Candy Hall
Sundayschoolshare-it@methow.com
--from SSTN: check out the Toy & Game page on my alternate site:
http://www.Creativeimaginations.NET
The suggestions there will help you get started.
your webservant,
sarah keith
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--> Christmas FunPak!
Great for gift-giving or Christmas crafting fun. Click on the "Christmas
FunPak"
link in the "Christmas and Advent" section at:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
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5) Sheet Music?
can anyone help me find the
sheet music to the song, christmas is a time
for love? I have been looking everywhere for it and just can't seem to find
it.
thanks
--from SSTN: try Hymnsite.com
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6) Christmas Skit
Several years ago, while in a very small church, I was in charge of the
Christmas program for the children. We had six kids at the time. I
taught the children the song "Mary's Little Boy Child" by Evie. They
sang along with her on the tape. As the verses progress the story of
Mary and Joseph giving birth to Jesus, as well as the shepherds and wise
men coming to the stable were acted out. One child was Mary, one was
Joseph. They came out together. One was a shepherd and one was a wise
man carrying a star on a tall pole. Two children were angels. Each child
came out as the song was sung telling about each part. It worked very
well, only lasted as long as the song and the kids looked adorable. We
did sing one more song after that. The parents loved making the costumes
for their children. Hope this helps. DAR Valhermoso Springs, AL
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7) Music Machine
Just wanted to thank Martha Black from Missouri for her great Christmas
gift idea draft dodgers. Annette O'Neill
Just wanted to tell Dawn Koehler from Hawaii that my kids have the VHS
tape of the Music Machine but I never saw a play of it. Maybe if you watch
the video you can come up with some ideas and change the name so you don't
break any copyright laws. You could even write the company and ask them
for the play book or go to a christian book store. Its the Music Machine
Series from the creators of The Amazing Book and Bullfrogs & Butterflies
by Multnomah and the Bridgestone Group 1990. The voices of Pat Boone and
Stan Freberg. Hope this helps. Let me know if you find it.
Annette O'Neill
--from SSTN: you can find the Music Machine in our bookstore. Just type
the title into the search box:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/bookstore.html
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8)
Happy Birthday Jesus Party
>Can anyone give me suggestions for a Happy Birthday Jesus Party for my
>primary Sunday School Class?
Hi Debbie: I have done a Happy Birthday Jesus party before. I decorated
the room with balloons and streamers. We played games-there is one game
that I play for all seasons that the kids absolutely love. It is actually
an old-fashioned game but my kids beg for it. I cut out of construction
paper holiday appropriate shapes-for Christmas-maybe stars or a manger,
etc.
and put numbers on them. I tape them to the wall-not in numerical order.
I
have the kids move clock-wise around the room and I play music. You can
use
a keyboard, tambourine, sticks, spoons, or just clap your hands. When the
"music" stops, the kids must find a numbered paper to put their hand on.
You then pull a number out of a "hat/bowl". ( I usually know I have about
35
kids, so I might make about 40. At the last minute I can add more if
necessary. I like to have a few more numbers than kids-so some rounds
nobody gets out.) When you call the number whoever is on it, is out. You
continue until only one person is left. I have rules such as "you can't
switch your hand or you're out", etc. Just depends on how unruly my group
is that day. Sometimes I eliminate one kid, sometimes two-just depends.
There are endless possibilities on games, pin the "star on the stable",
etc.
After we played games, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had cake. I had
a local bakery write "Happy Birthday Jesus" on the cake and they even
decorated the cake with a manger and hay. We put candles on the cake. I
work with mostly poor kids now, but at another church I had all the kids
bring a $1.00 present and we exchanged gifts. (although $1.00 doesn't
sound
like much-but some of my kids parents spend all of their money it seems
like on cigarettes/beer). Sorry this is so long, but I've had some fun with
the
Christmas theme in the past.
Sherri Klees
Evansville, IN
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--> Super Heroes of the Bible
"Super Heroes of the Bible" is a special midweek program which examines
the lives of some famous and not-so-famous people who had willing hearts
to obey God. And by obeying him, they were used in miraculous and powerful
ways to help change the course of human history. It is the goal of this
series to build FAITH, COURAGE, and OBEDIENCE in the lives of children,
and to change the world for Jesus Christ.
To learn more, go to this page:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
(you may need to copy and paste this address to your browser)
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9) C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S. letters?
A christmas show i saw one time, had the children spelling out christmas
with the letters meaning something to do with Christ in Christmas can
anyone help me with this? thanks and God bless
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10) Teen Lessons?
Dear SSTN
I have been teaching Sunday School to pre-teens for a couple of years now,
but from next year I am taking over the Bible Class (teenagers). I am
looking for any tips, ideas and lesson material to present them with a
fun-filled but also Spirit-filled lesson.
Thank You. In Christ
Erika Stander, Durban, South Africa
--from SSTN: check out the Bookstore-Christian Education section:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/bookstore.html
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11) Bible books
on teaching 8-10 year olds the books of the bible one
of the things my kids have done close to that age is
there are several songs that have the books of the
bible in a song format and it is a whole lot easier to
lean it that way. I'm not sure on any of the titles
but if you were to go to your library or bible book
store they may be able to help you out.
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12) Christmas Party
In response to the Christmas party for Jesus, I teach 3-5 year olds. We
do a "Pennies for Jesus" and give them to the pastor as our present to
Jesus. The week after Thanksgiving, I pass out cans with lids or bowls
with lids and the kids collect pennies for a month or till the Sunday
before Christmas and lay them on the altar for the pastor to use as he
sees fit, normally he uses them for our tract ministry. The kids
understand pennies better then anything. It teaches to take care of God's
work and it is a wonderful gift for the Lord. Then we have a cake and a
little party for Jesus.
Nancy
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13) Christmas Bulletin Board
In response to Christmas Bulletin Boards: I have taken a bulletin board
and
covered it with shiny foil Christmas wrapping paper, put a nice velvet
ribbon with a big bow and "ripped" the present open in the middle with a
picture of Jesus. I titled it "The Greatest Gift of All".
Adults and children alike seem to really enjoy this one.
God Bless! Sherri Klees, Evansville, IN
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