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SSTN # 25 - February 26, 2003


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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:


--> NEW-LIFE PUPPETS 

1) Teen Leaders in Training   
2) Western Theme
3) Samuel craft?
4) Black History month and the Bible

--> Egg-shaped Easter Story Cards

5) Western/Frontier VBS   
6) Rotation Model   
7) Explaining Dinosaurs
8) Home run for Jesus

--> Buggie For Jesus - I'm A BEE-liever!

9) Cowboy/Western Ideas
10) Large Butterflies?   
11) Intergenerational VBS
12) Equipping Teacher

--> KEEP SSTN ALIVE

13) Cowboys/Western decorations
14) Cowboy ideas
15) Pictures of Children Playing
16) Timothy Helped Paul?


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NEW-LIFE PUPPET patterns 


When assembled, New Life Puppets turn inside out to change from a tadpole
to a frog, or a caterpillar to a butterfly. They're easy-to-make and
children will learn about becoming new creatures in Christ! Get a free
puppet skit too!  In our Curriculum section:

http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 


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1) Teen Leaders in Training   

Child Evangelism Fellowship is an EXCELLENT resource for equipping teens
to lead children!  CEFOntario trains teams of teens each summer to go into
communities to give "Backyard Bible Clubs".  They spend a week or two
learning storytelling, Gospel presentation using the "Wordless Book",
puppeteering, song-leading, drama and crafts to keep children busy and
learning about Jesus for a half-day at a time.  The teens are then
equipped to come back into their home churches and lead Sunday School or
Jr. Church!  In fact, some churches even sponsor their interested teens'
training funds just for this very purpose.  The kids become missionaries
all summer long, billeted in Christian homes all over the place, then come
home to work for their own churches.

You can find Child Evangelism Fellowship through search engines, or here:
http://www.gospelcom.net/cef/

Highly recommend this organization!!!!!!!  ('course I'm biased, because
I'm a Wonderzone Trail Guide  http://www.wonderzone.com/ , and my Mum is a
face-painter and Gospel presenter with the CEF StoryHouse, represented at
county fairs and the like...)

~Lu

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2) Western Theme

Tell Emma that when our preschoolers sang "I'm in the Lord's Army," they
wore western clothes. At the end of each verse, they took off their cowboy
hats and waved them saying a very cheerful "yeeeeeeeha".  It was one of
the cutest little shows ever!
Charlotte

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3) Samuel craft?

I am looking for a lesson and some craft to go along with Eli and his
wicked sons. I have a video of Samuel that talks about them but I teach
3year olds preschool and in our bible lesson we always like to follow with
some type of craft. If you could help me I would appreciate it very much.
Thank you.

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4) Black History month and the Bible

You mentioned that you heard  Moses wife was black. In Numbers 12:1 
the Bible says she was An Ethiopian woman.
In Christ,  Betty
   
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Egg-shaped Easter Story Cards

Ten Egg-shaped cards that tell the Easter Story - When the cards
are cut, colored and assembled, players can play Easter Egg Scramble and
learn the Easter Story! Reproducible so your whole class can make a set!

In the Curriculum section: 
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 

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5) Western/Frontier VBS   

Melody,
We did a VBS with this theme years ago and I remember a few things:

A game the kids really liked, called WagonWheel~ have the kids form a
circle in a very large room (we used a gym floor) and join hands. Tell
them they are a wagon wheel and must roll around the room back to their
original spot. The "wheel" rolls along the walls and back to the starting
point (if possible). The kids love this!

We had the workers dress in western (cowboys for the guys and old
fashioned
dresses for the gals) attire. The last night we borrowed a covered buggy
and took black and white photos.

On the last night we had pony rides for the kids.

We put different symbols on the ends of the pews and on classroom doors
and
nametags to represent different classes. Examples: Boot, Wagon Wheel,
Cowboy
Hat, Bandanna, Lantern, etc.


A cute game I saw somewhere recently involves dressing two kids up in a
cowboy hat, bandanna, and toy gun holster/belt and using tiny new
testaments for a Bible Showdown (like a sword drill). On go, the kids
"draw" their bibles from the holsters and race to find the scripture
announced first.

Hope this helps a little!
Angie

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6) Rotation Model   

I would like to hear from those of you who are using the Rotation Model in
your sunday school program. We are going to start this in the fall and are
interested in what your workshop titles are, what you do, tips on getting
started, group sizes, what to do and not do, etc.
Thanks!
Amy in KY

--from SSTN: try typing "rotation" into the Archives List for some ideas:
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html 


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7) Explaining Dinosaurs

>I teach 3rd & 4th graders, and had a student ask about dinosaurs, I know
>the bible story of creation does not include dinosaurs, is there a way to

We had a lesson on dinosaurs in the bible and I found some great material
at  www.creationevidence.org  www.angelfire.com   www.therain.org  and
www.sixdaycreation.com  Hope these help.  Gail

--from SSTN: there are also age-appropriate books in our Christian
education section of our bookstore:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/bookstore.html 


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8) Home run for Jesus

Hey Kim-I have a great song to along with your theme, we made it up for
our Vacation Bible School last summer.  if you would like it....sorry I can't post it on the newletter, we're working
on getting it published!  If your interested in it, shoot me an email!-Betty in St. Louis

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Buggie For Jesus - I'm A BEE-liever!

Reproducible buggie crafts, games, lessons, and yummy devotions
to coordinate with your summertime VBS programs, or midweek classes.

In the Curriculum section: 
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 


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9) Cowboy/Western Ideas

I am Debby from Louisiana. I teach 7& 8 yr. old S.S.  I quarter I
decorated my class like the Old West. On one bullitin board I made a
chuckwagon. For the canvas cover I used a white Pillowcase that I stapled
to the board and stuffed with paper for a 3-d effect.  One child each week
was our Sheriff. I glued a safety pin to the back of a Starfish for the
sheriff to wear.  I also set up 2 bales of Hay in one corner of the room
for the children to sit on during song and story time. We made bows and
arrows from string and branches. Cowboys & girls wore boots, bandanas &
grocery bag vest that they decorated themselves.  Our Indians wore
handmaid headbands with real feathers along with paper bag vest.  I had a
friend that loaned us a saddle and bridle.  We had thich rope like lasos
everywhere. We made paper meche' cactus during craft time.  We also set up
a camp fire ring for lesson time.  I put large rocks in a ring with a
flashlight in the center covered with red and orange tissue paper. Someone
had a metal coffee pot (era style)and donated it,. I put our drink in a
ziplock bag and up it inside like coffee. We used old horse shoes, Indian
style blankets,and clay pots for decorations. Have fun.                
If you have any questions contact me at: dagoduck@charter.net


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10) Large Butterflies?   

Our church would like to decorate our outdoor courtyard with very large
butterflies for Easter Season.  Has anyone ever made anything like this?
Or if you have purchased them please let me know where.  I have looked all
over the web to no avail.
Pat <><

--from SSTN: check out "New Life Butterflies" in the craft section of the
website. Substitute pastel colored tulle fabric for the coffee filters and
eliminate the paint. They are crush proof and can be used outdoors. ;o))
http://www.christiancrafters.com/page6.html 
ysic, sarah keith <><

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11) Intergenerational VBS

Responding to Beth in Iowa,  re: Intergenerational VBS.
A few years back, we had 'Family Fun Bible Camp'. We met four Sunday
nights in a row in the summertime. We had approx. 80 adults and children
each session. First, we met together and everyone registered. You stayed
with your family for registration and each member of the group received a
nametag for that group. (same group for all four nights). The groups were
named Joshua, Noah, Mark, Paul, etc. We had 8 groups with about 10 in each
group. After opening together in prayer and song, each group moved to an
area set up for them for a twenty minute session. The sanctuary was
transformed to a dimly lit seaside where a fisherman told about his
encounter with Jesus. There was ocean sounds and fishing nets, the
children were amazed and listened to every word.( the next week, the
sanctuary was set up as if we were outside the house where the men lowered
their friend into the house through the roof so he could be healed by
Jesus - and each child got to lay on the mat (ropes tied on each corner)
and be lowered by the adults from the choir section to the pulpit area)
Next, the group would move to a room set up like a missionary camp. The
'missionaries' told a story about their experiences serving the Lord away
from home. Next, the group moved to snack time and ate snacks they made
together (banana splits one nite,  fruit salad another nite, and candy
bowls made of pieces of candy for each blessing the families could name
that God has bestowed on them.  There were four twenty minute sessions
(with travel time sandwiched in between) each night with the final one
being craft time. One night, each family made a cement stepping stone.
They decorated  their family stone with children's handprints, small
colored rocks and other items that were available to them.  Also, each of
the 8 groups had a disposable camera and after the third night, turned in
the camera. The last night, the craft was to pick out pictures you wanted
(copies were made of all) and make a small picture book to remember the
Family Fun Bible Camp. Each night the groups went through the same
rotation of areas and each group had a schedule so they knew where to go
next.  There was alot of preparation and lots more activities that I don't
have room to tell, but it was one of the most well received summer
activities we have had. Hope this will get you thinking about how many
things you can do! Jane Carpenter, Calvary Baptist Church, Monroe, N. C.


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12) Equipping Teachers

> I am looking for information that I could use to run a seminar
>or do a workshop with the teachers in order to

Deon, I wish I could remember who wrote or came up with this but our
Sunday School teachers did a half day seminar on the Learning Styles of
Children. ... Here's a link to an article about Gardener's theory of
intelligence, the second link is a synopsis of the 7.
http://rotation.org/Micki.htm
http://rotation.org/Seven.htm
Cheryl

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13) Cowboys/Western decorations

Hi Denise!
Sounds like a fun time in store for your VBS program. Kids always love a
western theme. One suggestion for your decorations will also help motivate
the kids to come would be to take a photo of each worker that will
participated in teaching, crafts etc. Have the workers dress in western
attire, such as hat and bandanna, western type shirt. Take a close up
photo - have someone handy with their computer scan and enlarge the image
to create western posters. Assign character names etc. like: Cactus Pete
----- Dee-double-dares You to Meet Him at VBS.. Or make a photo/poster
like, WANTED: Hawk-Eye Harriet ..... for telling Truth At Random.
Highlight each area of the week's activities and ALL of the workers.
Make some posters that have all the information about your VBS program to
put out in the community. Use a regular copy machine to duplicate them in
black and white. Hanging them throughout the church and community will
help to create interest.

Just an idea --- hope it helps.

Joyfully Serving HIM,
Emmalea Butler
Trafalgar, IN

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14) Cowboy ideas

I don't know if you have access to square hay bales or not, but you could
use several in your room and you could also purchase the stick horses, the
ones with the handle and the head on top.  Or you could, if you have the
time, make a town out of cardboard, sort of a mural, instead of having the
typical western scenes, jail, saloon ... you could use a church or such as
that.  It probably wouldn't take that long to do this you would need to
get
large pieces of cardboard or even a sheet.  You and your fiancé could
dress
in cowboy hats and chaps, which you could also make.  Please let us @ SSTN
know what ideas you use, this theme could really take off. 
Love in Christ
KDD Alabama

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15) Pictures of Children Playing

Hi Maureen
You may like to try the microsoft clipart site which has photos on it
there is also a link there to Corbis.com which has a huge range of photos
even though you have to pay for the full version you can copy  them for
free and get a reasonable quality.  Also try christianet1.com
God bless
Petula


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16) Timothy Helped Paul?

Thanks for the information.  I am scheduled to teach 5-8 year old Sunday
School class on Sunday, 2/16. The subject is: Timothy Helped Paul; Lesson:
Acts 16:1-5; Philippians 2:19-24; 1 Timothy 1:1-3; II Timothy 1:3-5.  
Golden Text:  Philippians 2:22.  If you have any great ideas activities,
lesson plans and etc.  Please e-mail.
Thanks,
Linda

--from SSTN: sorry your posting didn't make it in on time. Just a reminder
to everyone, if at all possible, try to get your requests in 3-4 weeks in
advance. (Normally it requires 2-3 weeks, but SSTN is more active than
usual right now. ;o))  ysic, sarah <><


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