In Sunday School, one of my kiddos made this really neat project depicting the empty tomb... and I just had to share it!
I thought this would be a great craft for families with multiple-aged children, giving older kiddos an opportunity to help their siblings.
Before I sign off, I ran across this article about children and Holy Week, and I thought it might be helpful for someone. Prayers to all of you for a wonderful Easter filled with happiness and the understanding that God loves each and every one of us.
The story of Zacchaeus is a classic Sunday School lesson. Our littles enjoyed pretending to climb up and down a tree yesterday, and took turns telling Zacchaeus to climb down from the tree.
This "tree" was fairly simple to create, and could be used in a variety of lessons. I started with a paper towel tube, and drew lines and knots to create a woodgrain look. Four "squares" of green tissue paper are twisted and glued inside the top of the tube. Two layers of magnetic tape (long strips) are adhered inside the tube and a piece is on the back of the Zacchaeus figure. ***Craft Tips: 1) Be sure to flatten out the magnetic tape before adhering it into the tube. 2) Place a dowel inside the tube on top of the magnetic tape, and rest a phone book on top for a few days to be sure the magnetic tape sticks. I also placed a bit of magnetic tape on the back of the Jesus figure, and I used a bookend to support the scene. (The tree can be attached to the bookend with yarn or more magnetic tape.) The children took turns retelling the story and making Zacchaeus slide down the tree.
More than once in the Bible, the metaphor of "fishing for men" is written. This past Sunday our pre-schoolers listened to Luke 5:1-11. We talked about living the way Jesus wants us to live, and then about praying for our friends, and inviting our friends to church. Then we played a fishing game!
These cute fish came with our Sunday School curriculum, but you can easily make your own at home. You can print fish images onto card stock, or simply cut fish-shapes out of construction paper. If you are using construction paper, you could also add an extra activity (great for these really cold days) of decorating the fish with markers, stickers, and even sequins! On each fish, write a name - your pre-schooler, friends, family, etc. Attach a small piece of magnetic tape to the back of each fish. Create a fishing pole by taping yarn to the end of a straw, and tie a paperclip to the end. Spread the fish out on a table, the floor, or even in a bowl, and "fish for men." ***Variation for older children: Sandwich each fish between two layers of clear Contact Paper. Leave a border around the edge when you cut the fish out, and be sure to seal the edges firmly. Then add the magnetic tape. Your child can now go fishing in a bowl of water, a water table, or even a baby-sized swimming pool (you might need a longer fishing pole for this). I also have a free printable for you today:
Print the fish onto card stock, write your little one's name in pencil, and help "write" the name again using glitter-glue. FUN!! Be sure to come back on Monday... I have a really fun snack to share with you that fits perfectly with this Bible story (Luke 5:1-11)!
Our "toddlers & twos" are continuing to learn about the wise men who followed the star to find and worship Jesus. We are also working on identifying the simple star shape. So today I thought I'd share an activity you can use at home.
*** Tip: If you print this page onto cardstock, it will last a little bit longer. Have your little one decorate the stars with crayons, markers, stickers, etc. Then cut out the stars, and work together to line up the stars from smallest to largest. Repeat the activity, but order them from largest to smallest. Click here for a simple song to conclude your activity. When you are finished, tuck the stars into a plastic bag and toss into your diaper bag. Then you will have an activity ready to play the next time you are stuck waiting with your little one.
Today I thought I'd share an easy activity for your little ones. Just print out this page, read and discuss the sentence together, then let the drawing time begin!
Samuel says twice in chapter 12 of 1 Samuel that we should serve the Lord with all our hearts. I thought an activity to reinforce this concept for Pre-Schoolers would be fun. So today I have two printables for you. Print one "Cover Page" and as many copies of the "Inside Page" as you would like. It can certainly be printed onto regular, white printer paper... but if you would like to "bump up" the craftiness, print onto single-sided scrapbook paper. (You can often find 8-1/2 x 11" single-sided scrapbook paper sold in single sheets at your local craft store.) That way the space for your littles to color will be white, but the back of each page will be fancy! :}
When your child is finished, help him / her cut out the hearts. Punch a small hole through each of the little gray circles in the upper-left of each heart, stack your pages together with the cover on top, and hook your booklet together with a brad or small notebook ring. It would be a good idea to work on this project over several days... weeks... a month? As you know, little bitties have short attention spans. :} Once finished, this would be a nice, light-weight "time-filler" to carry in your purse. Won't the other mommies think you are clever and smart when they see you pull out your child's sweet little booklet the next time your doctor's office is running behind??? Feel free to share this activity with others! :}
I found the neatest idea in our Pre-School Sunday School guide - giving children "Prayer Partners." I thought it would be a great idea to make into an activity and share with you today. Arrange ahead of time with the parents of one of your child's friends for the two children to become "Prayer Partners." Then each child will make a special effort to pray for his/ her partner every day. I even created a simple printable activity for you! After printing the page, cut in half on the dotted line, help the children write each others' names on the solid line, color and decorate as desired, then fold in half to make two little table tents. Place your child's Prayer Partner reminder is a special place, such as on the nightstand in his/ her bedroom.
It might be a good idea to lead your child in the prayer the first few times. A simple example would be, "God, please bless my prayer partner, (child's name), and take care of him/ her today. Amen." I'd love to hear how this worked for your family if you gave it a try. Feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. :}
Yesterday we celebrated Grandparents Day. After the church service, we had a cute craft project available for grandkids and grandparents... a "hug" that can be kept forever. Wouldn't this be the best mail to open???
I think this would be a great project to create with your little bitties, just to brighten someone's day. Be sure to include a nice note! :}
It's almost Grandparents Day (this coming Sunday), so how about a simple craft your littles can do with Grandma and Grandpa?!
Supplies you will need: the printed puzzle, construction paper, scissors, glue stick, markers. Optional supplies to embellish your picture: stickers, cut-out magazine pictures, etc.
Last week I was onvacation in Salt Lake City. FYI, it's a loooooong drive there and back. The neat thing about driving across the country though, is seeing how the landscape changes along the way. As I traveled the gently rolling hills in Iowa, past the flat and open farms of Nebraska, through the rocky hills and sage-brush in Wyoming, then into the Wasatch Mountain Range in Utah, I enjoyed the beauty of the land and the variety of plants and animals that God created.
It made me think about a fun activity for pre-schoolers to help reinforce the teachings in Genesis, chapter 1. Grab some old magazines, and help your young child(ren) search for pictures of God's creations. Depending on the age and ability of your child(ren), you might have to assist with the cutting. Find a variety of plants, animals, people, and landforms. Then glue these pictures onto paper or lunch sacks to create a scrapbook (bound together with ribbon or rings along an edge) or a paper-bag scrapbook. Older children can help sort the pictures into groups (land animals, water animals, plants, etc.). This is a fun activity that can be worked on for several days. It might be easier to keep all of your supplies for this project in a tub, and then grab the tub on rainy days or when a quiet activity is needed. After all of the pages are finished, create a Title Page for your book (perhaps Thank You God For... ) and bind it together. As you "read" through the scrapbook, lead your child(ren) in thanking God for his creations. Have fun!! After your scrapbook is finished, I'd love to hear how it went! :}
