Sunday School Teacher's Newsletter, Great Ideas for Children's Ministry!





August 3, 2015 -- Issue #24





In today's newsletter: 1) God's Top Ten Testimony 2) Fun-Arts Camp 3) Names of God Video 4) Ten Commandments Race 5) Sunday School Songs?






1) God's Top Ten Testimony We used God's Top Ten in our 2015 VBS program. Much prayer and planning went into getting all 10 commandments taught in four days. I had a co-director and we each took different commandments to present to the children. We taught #1 and 2 the first night, #3 and 4 the second night, #5, 6, 7 the third night and # 8, 9, 10 the last night. As you might suspect, much gleaning had to be done also. As I was preparing my lesson for commandment #9, I read the game "Stand Trial." Instead of a game we made it be an actual trial, closing with communion. This was our closing lesson for the week. We were able to present the lesson for Do Not Steal, Do Not Lie and Do Not Covet (Crave What Others Have), into one big lesson. For Do Not Steal, my co-director asked two ten-year old boys to be actors. She explained to them ahead of time what was to happen. She placed a bowl of candy in plain view of all the children, and instructed the two boys to each steal a piece of candy and then stuff it in their mouths quickly, sort of sneaky like. When asked if they stole the candy (they were to lie, saying they did not). To show they had broken the 8th and 9th commandment, as a result of breaking the 10th commandment, Do Not Covet. The sweet part about this was the two little boys didn't want to do it, until their teacher said they would be actors for the night and it was not for real. We used the suggested song, "God Rules." We did not introduce any other music. We concentrated on this song and the Look and Learn Ten Commandments video. They sang the song in church Sunday for the congregation. The last night one little eight-year old came up to me and said, "This was the best Vacation Bible School ever!" That made it all worthwhile. Praise God! Keep up the good work. Blessings, Marjorie Wilson --from SSTN: Dear Marjorie, thank you so very much for sharing your successful story with us! I very much appreciate your encouragement! And for those other teachers who have used our curriculum, we'd love to hear your success stories too! Your webservant, Sarah Keith <><



2) Fun Arts Camp Fun-Arts Camp 2015 is in the books, and what a great week we had! For over ten years, in addition to VBS and Music Camp, during the summer our church provides a Fun-Arts Camp for children who have completed 4th-8th grade. The children choose three, one-hour classes to attend over the course of one week. This year we offered some great options such as cooking, jewelry making, photography, set design (where they create the set for next year's VBS program), scrapbooking, fishing, lacrosse, and much more. The classes are taught by the adults in church. It's a great way to establish a bond of fellowship between generations. I usually teach glass mosaics; this year was no exception! The design I created is based on the stained glass window in our church's main sanctuary. It is inspired from Jesus' declaration, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" John 15:5. The children learned what it means to be connected to the Vine, and to remain in Jesus. We also discussed what it takes to bear good fruit in our lives---"remaining in him." Throughout the week we memorized the Bible verse, and used the Vanishing Words memorization technique, one of the memory tools in our Bible Games Explosion book. The mosaics class is probably one of the more difficult classes in Fun-Arts Camp. It's a slow process of creating, but the results are fantastic. In a digital world where outcomes are immediate, this class helps children to appreciate the value of taking their time to produce a beautiful work of art. The children all began with the same pattern, but click the picture on the left to enjoy seeing how beautifully different they turned out! We are all created in God's image; he has given each of us unique abilities!

Your webservant, Sarah Keith <>< SundaySchoolNetwork.com



3) Names of God Video A special thanks to Peny White, one of the teacher's in our network, for sending in the link to an amazing video on the Names of God. Click the picture to watch, and then discover how to teach the names of God to the children in your ministry.



4) Ten Commandments Race Line up the kids and give the first child in line a random answer. He or she must advance to the tablets and place the answer wherever he or she believes it to be the correct answer. Player returns to the start line and tags off the next player. Next player in line takes his or her turn, playing as before. In addition, if a player believes an answer placed previously is incorrect, he or she may change it. Play continues until all the answers are placed correctly. Playing in teams and racing to be the first team to place all the answers correctly increases the fun! Get all the Bible Game rules for the Ten Commandments Race.



5) Sunday School Songs? Hi, Please can I have a list of songs that we can sing at Sunday school? Regards Viloshnee Naidoo (KZN) --from SSTN: Hi Viloshnee, the age of the children is an important factor to consider. Generally though, using songs with movement and an upbeat tempo, are usually well received by kids. Most of our Bible-4-Life curriculum lessons includes song time suggestions that coordinate with them, (see posting #1, above). I've also included some links below, (you can sample the songs before purchasing): Sunday School Songs for younger children Sing 'Em Again! Favorite VBS Songs For Families Great Worship Songs for Kids


Have you written a Bible lesson, game, craft, or skit for children's ministry? Send it to: submissions@sundayschoolnetwork.com




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