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SSTN # 91 - August 26, 2003
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
--> Super Heroes of the Bible
1) Murmuring against the pastor
2) Women's retreat
3) Opening Day of Sunday School
--> ONLY ONE DOLLAR
4) Multiple Ages
5) S.S. Kick Off
6) Paying attention?
--> His Name Shall Be Called...
7) Rally Day?
8) Halloween Alternative
9) Planning For the Year
--> Fruit of the Spirit - Bingo Game
10) Halloween Alternative
11) Miracles Songs
12) Sunday School Drive?
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--> Super Heroes of the Bible
This special midweek program 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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1) Murmuring against the pastor
First the Word speaks against murmuring in the church. The main thing we
must remember if you are saved you know this business is not about you or
the pastor, its about HIM. The Word gives us instruction on handleling all
problems. We need to follow the instructions that he has given. You should
pray for your pastor if he is wrong the Lord will deal with him. I know
GOD does not need our help in chasteing anyone. Continue in prayer for
your pastor and congregation
J.Sullivan,
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2) Women's retreat
I recenttly did the sermon in our church and used Jesus's parble as my New
Testament Reading. I spoke of a mature mulberry tree in my backyard and
how it produces sweet juicy mulberries. The birds eat of this tree and
sometimes drop the mulberries along the perimiter of my yard while sitting
on my fence. After time I have a new young mulberry tree growing and now
it too is producing fruit. I compared these trees to myself and others in
my life. The Large Mature mulberry tree I described as people who have
taught me about God and Jesus, people who planted the seed. How I was the
young mulberry tree, and how I grew (roots, branches, green leaves) and
how I am now producing fruit, teaching the young children of our church to
love God and Jesus. And how hopefully one day, the seed within them will
grow, mature, and produce fruit. The sermon's title is the mulberry tree.
Hope this helps. What city and state will the retreat be held in?
Lisa M
NJ
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3) Opening Day of Sunday School
To Sam in Florida--
Last year for our "Rally Day" or first day of Sunday School in the fall, I
choose about 4-5 games from the games section of the "Christian Crafters"
website. The whole Sunday School played these games together (about 30 of
us altogether) and we had a blast. The more active the game, the more fun
we had--but you can choose based on what you think your students would
like. Our favorite game was the relay in which the contestants must run to
a large sack of balloons, retrieve a balloon, pop it, extract the slip of
paper with a book from the Bible written on it that was inside the
balloon, and then correctly identify whether this book is from the Old or
New Testament. This year we are also having a potluck after our church
service, and our teachers are the "guests of honor." If your Sunday
School is too big to play the games altogether, you might consider
recruiting volunteers to help lead each game and divide the kids up into
smaller groups. You could also play carnival style games this way,
too--you could have the "Fishers of Men" pond, etc.
Ann in Iowa
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--> ONLY ONE DOLLAR
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Your webservant,
Sarah Keith <><
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4) Multiple Ages
>"I am sunday school teacher of the 3-8 year old age group, and find it
>quite hard to plan lesson to fit the age so they can follow along "
As a former teacher, I would recommend getting a helper. If you can find
a youth that would be interested, great, but if you have to, name the
older kids teacher's helper for a week, month, etc. Even many 8 year olds
are eager to be put in a position of authority and will do anything they
can to not lose that position. (Of course, there are some kids you can
never trust to do what you ask them to do-you already know who they are).
Have the helper take the younger kids into a separate part of the room
(never out of sight unless its a youth helping) and play a game with them,
paint or color, read a book, etc. while you cover the lesson in depth with
the older kids and get them started in the activity. Then you can lead
the 3-4 year olds in their own, simplified lesson and activity. Some
people may think that this "cheats" the older child who is acting as a
helper, but I disagree. They will learn any lesson they TEACH far better
than one they just listen to, and it is so! different from what they do at
school, most will be fighting for the job.
Hope this helps,
Teri Smith
Lake Highalands Baptist Church, Dallas TX
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5) S.S. Kick Off
You could use the Ice Breaker games at ChristianCrafters.com.
They're in the games section.
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6) Paying attention?
dear sstn,
how could i or we as a sunday school teacher to gather the three to 5
years old to concentrate on what we teach?
i found it very hard to get them sit down to listen only when doing craft
works than they can sit quitely to done all the colouring and pasting.
please give me some tips so i can share with other teachers at my church.
thank you
anne
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"His Name Shall Be Called..."
The God of the Old and New Testament is known by many names. These names
help us to understand his nature and reputation. They define him as
Protector, Defender, Friend, Advisor, Judge, and Savior to name just a
few. "His Name Shall Be Called..." seeks to teach children how to obey the
third commandment, which says,
"Do Not Misuse God’s Name". This series contains a variety of fun lessons,
crafts, and games to teach respect and honor for God to the children in
your ministry.
For Kindergarten - 5th grade. Free USA shipping!
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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7) Rally Day?
Do you have any suggestions or ideas for themes for a Rally Day Sunday.
We are looking for some!!!!!!!!!
Thanks- Angela
--from SSTN: check the Archives too:
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html
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8) Halloween Alternative
We have "Safe and Sweet Night." The Wednesday of or before Trick or Treat
Night, we have a small party for the children in our Family Life Center,
and then, after church service, the adults come over and sit in chairs
along the wall of our gym handing out
treats to the children, who dress in costumes (no scary ones allowed) and
parade down the stairs...It's a lot of fun for the kids and the elderly
members!
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9) Planning For the Year
"When you DON'T use an established curriculum, how do you go about
deciding
what to teach for the coming year? (K-6th grade?)"
Here's a list of what I've done in the past:
a) I have divided the year into quarters (about 13 lessons per quarter)
and
come up with lessons that could be grouped together. For example, the fall
quarter (SON) might include the following lessons:
God Made Fall; God Made Day and Night; God Made Plants; God Made Fish; God
Made Birds; God Made Animals; God Made Me; God Takes Good Care of All He
Made; I Can Go To Church; I Can Give; I Can Pray; I Can Help; I Can Thank
You God for All You Made;
Then, I go to any books or resources I already have to find ideas to go
along with the lessons. I use the internet for game and activity ideas a
LOT!!
b) I have divided the year into months and devoted each month to a certain
thing, like the 9 fruits of the spirit or the ten commandments...
c) I have opened a good children's Bible story or devotion book and
started
at the beginning of the book and listed all the stories, in order, that I
wanted to teach the most, and just placed them in on the dates I'd be
teaching...I'd leave the holidays (like Christmas and Easter) open for
seasonal lessons, of course. I did this recently and came up with titles
for
42 "instant lessons" for the preschool/K teachers to use. (I give them
lesson kits that are complete so that they don't have to gather materials,
etc.) I have completed 33 of the lessons so far...
d) I have used old missions lesson packets or vbs materials to come up
with
lessons.
e) For Wednesday nights this year I'll be helping my husband teach ages 3
-
11 (a small group) and my plan is very simple:
I will go to the local library each week (or once a month) and choose a
great book to read aloud to them and plan a theme around each book every
week! I'll search the internet for ideas to go along with ones I have
collected and follow the same basic plan each week:
Opening Prayer and Pledges to Bible, Christian Flag, and American Flag
Bathroom Break
Prayer and Snack
StoryBook Time
Follow Up Activities (like crafts, games, table activities)
This way I'll be able to use items I have on hand already and I won't be
so
pressured to plan a full year of curriculum at once. Plus, and this is a
big
bonus, the kids will get excited about reading and will be exposed to 30+
books this year that they may not have read otherwise...I will link the
books to Bible concepts, of course!
In His Service,
Angie
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--> Fruit of the Spirit - Bingo Game
A fun way for players to learn the Fruit of the Spirit characteristics.
Players score using real fruit candy! FREE SHIPPING!
Learn more here:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
(you may need to copy and paste this address to your browser)
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10) Halloween Alternative
There are sooo many things you can do as a Halloween alternative. I've
gone to some alternative thing every year for many years.
Our church currently has a "fun night." We do sword drills (Bible
drills) and Bible Trivia. Each family brings two bags of candy and we
divide it up into wal-mart sacks and each kid goes home with a ton of
stuff.
I've also been to ones where we had a hayride or a bonfire. One year I
went to one called "The Happening" where they all had different "booths"
where each kid could play a game of some sort. They bobbed for apples,
too. There were prizes and everyone went home with a bag full of candy.
One of the previous years, they had played a version of hot potato, but
with a pie pan of whipped cream. Whoever had it when the music stopped had
to put their face in it! You could also have a pie in the face booth, and
have voluteers stand behind. It helps if it's a Sunday school teacher,
youth leader, or even the pastor! I am a Sunday School teacher, and I had
gleeful kids lined up for quite a ways!
Hope these ideas help!
Kari
1st UPC
Ages 5-12
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11) Miracles Songs
There is a traditional kids' Sunday School song called "How Did Moses
Cross the Red Sea?" I believe you can find it in the songbook "Salvation
Songs for Children". I have also used the spiritual "Go Down, Moses" in a
series of lessons on Moses.
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12) Sunday School Drive?
I recently became the teacher of our 6-9 year olds. I believe there are
so many more children in our church that do not attend S.S. I am very
interested in holding a membership drive or the equivalent of that. I am
not sure what it is called but I would like any information/comments that
you all can pass on to me.
Thanks, April S.
God Bless You!
--from SSTN: check the archives too. Use keyword, "attendance":
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html
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