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SSTN # 127 - December 26, 2002
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
1) Liquid object lesson
2) Epiphany Sunday?
3) Rewards for Dealing with Disruptive Children
4) Words to "What Can I Give Him"
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5) Using Rewards
6) Giving money to poor children
7) How Do You Reach The Youth
8) "Attitudes" Bulletin Board
9) Disruptive children
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1) Liquid object lesson
I've not seen the object lesson that you are referring to, the black and
red, but I have used an object lesson to teach the students faith.You put
water in a jar, the represents the students, add vegetable oil,
representing Jesus, and try shaking it up. After you leave it sit for a
second the oil and water seperate again. Then you add some Dawn (or other
grease-cutting) dish soap, this represents faith. This time when you shake
up the jar, everything stays mixed together.This can be used to show how
important faith is in our relationships with Jesus!God's Blessings & Merry
Christmas! :)
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2) Epiphany Sunday?
Do you do any special activities for Epiphany Sunday?
Crafts? Games?
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3) Rewards for Dealing with Disruptive Children
Well... I think rewards in moderation are an effective tool for modifying
behavior. After all, God Himself uses his promises and rewards to
encourage us to stay on the right track. We all receive his free gift of
salvation when we believe and accept Jesus as Lord. But if you study
rewards in the Bible, they are given to those who act according to certain
criteria as determined by God. It is noble to believe that people will
change their behavior purely out of love and the desire to do right, and
at times we actually do rise to that noble level, but often we fall short.
Rewards can be very effective in letting a child know that he is on the
right track. Please notice that I mean rewards "in moderation" and only
when they are justified by appropriate behavior. Rewards are meaningless
and useless if they are not earned by proper behavior.
Sally in Wichita
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4) Words to "What Can I Give Him"
I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for. The words to "What Can I
Give Him" are actually the last stanza of a hymn called "In The Bleak
Midwinter". The last verse is as follows:
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can give Him: give my heart.
You can find the words and hear the theme at the following address:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/n/intbleak.htm
I recently did a bulletin board using the last verse (the "What Can I Give
Him" portion) I put a shepherd boy holding a baby lamb and sheep at his
feet on a blue background. He is looking up at a starry sky (I drew the
stars in chalk on the blue background, with the star of Bethlehem being
prominent). I put a strip of brown paper across the bottom (which the
shepherd boy is standing on) and some Bible time looking bulidings in the
distance to represent Bethlehem, as if the little shepherd is traveling
there. I printed the words to "What Can I give Him" and put those up.
It's one of my favorite bulletin boards, and I look forward to putting it
up each year. I have varies the places I use it (one year in a hallway,
then in my classroom) so different groups can enjoy it.
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5) Using Rewards
>Also I want to thank you for realizing that we should
>not use prizes and candy to manipulate or make the kids listen. This is
>so important, and its amazing how many adult teachers resort to this
>method because its the easy way out. God Bless your future Lee!!
That is a slam against a lot of us and I resent it. The old saying about
not criticizing someone until you have walked a mile in his moccasins
comes into play here. I have taught for over 30 years and I teach
workshops across the country. There are some children that are HARD to
deal with, and I think it is up to the teacher to decide how to handle
these situations. I know that Group is against rewards. But, I wonder how
many of those people actually teach children. It is easy to tell someone
how to do something, but not so easy when you are in the classroom.
Teresa
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6) Giving money to poor children
I think you need to be careful in your approach to this. I think it is a
good idea to ensure the kids can come to services, but, if it's possible,
I
would not just give them money. You said they are from the slum areas,
and
from your wording, I am assuming that many of these kids' parents don't
attend church. With funds being tight, just giving them cash, it may get
used for something other than the child's transportation to services. Of
course, it may be something needed by the child's family if they are poor,
or it may end up in the wrong hands and get used for vice. Is there any
way
you can purchase a bus pass of some type? Not knowing how the Phillipines
works, I realize that a pass for transit may not be practical or even
available. Some other ideas, though I know they may not be practical in
your situation either, would be to have a volunteer go and collect the
children, using either a private vehicle (which I realize you may not
have)
or traveling on the public transport. I will pray for your situation.
Your
heart is in the right place, I am sure God will provide you a solution.
In
Christ's love, Kristine
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7) How Do You Reach The Youth
>I would like some input on the subject of how to reach the youth at our
>church. They seem to be going no where spiritually.
Two scriptures came to mind when reading this posting...Proverbs 22:6
"Train
up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart
from it." and 2 Timothy 1:5 "For I am mindful of the sincere faith within
you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice,
and
I am sure that it is in you as well."
Both scriptures reveal what I believe to be the secret to raising a godly
child, the example set for the child at home. It is not the responsibility
of the Sunday school to train the child, though that is often what
happens.
The church has a part, as the body of Christ, to provide some nourishment,
but the church is only as strong as its members. Parents are the closest
relationship that the church has with the youth. That is where the seeds
of
love must be sown. We must strive to live a good, biblical example for
our
children every day. So many times I have seen children turn from the Lord
in adolescence, children who appear to have godly parents. The parents
attend church and church functions regularly, some even hold the role of
deacons or SS teachers. What better example could there be, right?
Wrong.
The life we parents live and show at church must mirror the life we live
at
home. A deacon who cheats on his income tax, cusses at the football game
on
tv, or the SS teacher who gossips about her neighbours, belittles her
husband in front of the children, that is the example that is set for the
kids, not what the parents appear to be at church. Hypocrisy is Satan's
best ally. Now, I am not saying that no "bad seeds" or rebellious
children
come from good parents, that happens too. But the most important thing we
can do to help insure against that rebellion is show the child God's love,
forgiveness, and hope right in his own home. The "bad seeds" that do come
from faithful parents often do straighten out because of the way they were
raised, even if it takes years. All the parenting books these days talk
about "modeling behaviour", that is the primary way kids learn, by
modeling
the behaviour they see at home. What better way to show our child how to
be
a faithful Christian? Of course, none of us are perfect, our children
will
see that too. But the way we respond to our mistakes molds the child as
well. They need to see mistakes and repentance in their parents so that
they know God will forgive them when they too make mistakes (because they
will!) Many kids who were brought up in very strict households turn from
the Lord, many do not. I believe the difference lies in the example of
God's love that is set forth. Pray together, read the bible together,
meditate together, encourage your child to begin a journal of quiet time
with God, that is there for their private thoughts (that means no reading
to
see how your child is progressing spiritually) and begin a journal
yourself.
Show your child your reverential love of God, talk to them about it, show
them. Tell your child they can always come to you with problems or
mistakes, and when they do, forgive them. There may be punishment
necessary, actions always have consequences, but don't let your child see
only your anger, let them see the love, unconditional love, as well.
Don't
hold a grudge. Forgive your children as our Father forgives us, without
remembering our sins (which means don't bring up the dinged fender on the
car in an argument six months after the fact!) Be humble, and look to the
Word for God's guidance.
The suggestions for a youth service during the week are great, kids need
to
learn how to love God among their peers as well as at home. Please don't
feel I am attacking anyone, or saying that if your kids are doing bad
things, then you aren't a faithful Christian, every situation is unique.
I
am just trying to set out what God's Word has said to me on this subject,
and the way I am trying to raise my own children. I hope this has been
some
help.
In Christ's overabundant love, Kristine <><
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8) "Attitudes" Bulletin Board
>Does anyone have a bulletin board idea for the topic of "Attitudes" - the
>kids are 5-10 years old.
I am wondering if it shouldn't be "BeAttitudes." You can pull a lot of
ideas for attitudes out of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)
I did the "BEE"attitudes with my first grade class and it went over very
well. I went to a school supply store and bought a spring bulletin board
kit
that had a huge flower and several bee's in the kit. I then typed out on
my
computer the "BEE" attitudes. It looked so nice and the kids responded to
it
very well....they always do better with visuals. We even made bee
refrigerator magnets to remind them of the "BEE" attitudes. We made the
Bee's
out of small clothes pins found in the craft section and then made bees
with
chenille stems (yellow and black)....used wiggly eyes and even had
antennae
on them. I hope this helps you. Peace and wishes for a terrific holiday
season!! ~Tina
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9) Disruptive children
I also had a very disruptive child at one time in my Sunday School class.
She wouldn't do anything I asked her to do, knocked furniture down,was
noisy, as I talked she got louder, wrote all over the tables and that
tended
to spread until she had the entire class, except for one little boy who
was
a first time visitor who was amazed at how bad she was and how easily it
became catchy. My class is 3 and 4 year olds, that age can be as bad as
any
other. I give little prizes and stickers in my class for good behavior and
learning scriptures.I have always passed out stickers if nothing else.
Well,
I changed it that day. Instead of trying to keep peace, I closed my book,
put everything away, stood the disruptive child on the wall for a few
minutes, then I sat all of them down and explained that we were in God's
house and that I knew that God didn't like the way they were acting any
better than I did.That didn't seem to bother them. Well then I found
something that made them all stand up and scream NOT FAIR! I didn't pass
out
any prizes that day except to the one boy that couldn't believe how bad
the
other kids were and by the way they didn't get snacks either. They started
telling me that it was not fair, I agreed, it wasn't fair, but I also
explained that it wasn't fair for me to spend my time preparing lessons
for
them to learn about God and His family and them to act like that. I also
explained that I don't have to supply snacks,prizes or stickers and if
they
didn't want to come back to my class that was their choice of course but I
would no longer tolerate that type of behavior in my class. I also had a
rebuttle for the I'm telling my mother. As the mothers came in and a few
fathers I told them all that I would need a few minutes to explain what
had
been going on in our class.Needless to say they have never acted like that
again.
Your friend in Christ,
Judy Booth
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