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Kids Ministry

Dedicated to helping Kids Ministry leaders in their mission of making disciples

Crafts, Fun

Handprint Flowers

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Sunday, January 19 is Sanctity of Life Sunday. As believers we celebrate that God made us and He made us in His image. Before we were born, God had a plan for us. Help kids celebrate the value of life through this art activity.

Supplies: 

Bible
green, yellow, and purple paint
baby wipes
white construction paper
markers
paintbrushes (large and small)
paint smocks
paper plates

*Option: You can substitute a large single-color stamp pad and a green marker for the paint.

Read Psalm 139:13-14. Point out that God has made each child remarkably and wondrously. 

As you help each kid create their handprint flowers, remind them of these special Bible truths:

God made me, so I am special.

God loves me.

God will always love me.

God has plans for me.

Give each kid a piece of white construction paper. Help kids print I am remarkably and wondrously made on the bottom of their papers. 

Pour some yellow or purple paint onto a plate and after it spreads out, allow a kid to place their hand palm down in the paint. Guide her to stamp a handprint in the middle of the construction paper. Use a baby wipe to clean off the hand and repeat the process with the other hand.

Allow kids to use a small paintbrush and green paint to add stems to their handprint flowers.

Crafts

Thankful Friend Craft

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This craft idea is by Kristen White from ParentLife magazine.

This cute “friend” — like an Advent calendar in reverse — will help you remember to thank God during this busy month. Use the note paper “patches” on his hat to write down great things that happen, names of people, and other things your family is thankful for. Slide the patches in the open envelope behind that hat. Then, during Thanksgiving, pull out the patches and reflect on all God has done for you this month — and every day of your life.

What You Need

  • 6-by-9-inch vertical mailing envelope30-magnet-man

  • Colored or scrapbook paper in fall shades

  • Rickrack or narrow ribbon in fall shades

  • 2 large buttons

  • Red permanent marker or paint pen

  • 3 clothespins

  • 3 heavyweight magnets

  • Craft glue, glue dots, or hot glue (use adult supervision)

  • Scissors

What You Do

  • Place the mailing envelope, flap up, on your work surface.

  • Cut ribbon or rickrack into 2-inch to 3-inch pieces. You’ll need about 20 pieces.

  • Cut a hat out of paper, at least 6 inches wide and 3 inches tall.

  • Cut two sleeves out of paper.

  • Cut or punch several patches out of paper.

  • Glue ribbon or rickrack hair pieces along the flap fold line. Glue the hat along the top edge of the hair and onto the flap.

  • Glue straw onto the sleeves, then glue the sleeves onto the side of the envelope.

  • Glue buttons for eyes.

  • Draw a “stitched” smile.

  • Glue magnets onto the back of the clothespins.

  • Clip two clothespins on the bottom for legs.

  • Clip one clothespin to the hat to hold the paper patches.

Kristen White enjoys making crafts with her four kids and all their friends. Catch some encouragement and a craft or recipe at her website, womenwithroots.com. Also, for more, check out the ParentLife blog.

Crafts, Fun

Pinterest Friday: Back to School

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Cristy2Sharpen those pencils – school is back in session! How will you make the most of this school year with your child? Celebrate the 2013-2014 school year with back to school parties, tasty snacks, fun crafts, snazzy homework areas, and teacher gifts! Take a look at our Back to School Pinterest board for some inspiration!

Events, Resources, Sunday School

Don’t Overlook Palm Sunday!

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Klista Storts photoThis Sunday is the first Sunday in March!  Unbelievable! The promise of Spring. The newness of the world. The newness of LIFE!  Just four weeks until Easter, one of my very favorite holidays of the year!

As you start preparations for that Big Sunday coming up, I want to remind you how special the Sunday before Easter can be in the lives of your church families – Palm Sunday.  I’m afraid that sometimes we get all excited about Easte0r Sunday because of what WE get to do…new clothes, eggs, candy, etc., instead of what He did that day. So, one thing I love about Palm Sunday, is that we truly focus on praising Jesus Christ.  Now, I’ll be honest, I don’t remember as a child ever having celebrated Palm Sunday at my church or in my home!  I know!  Right??? And therefore, as I started my own family, I didn’t know anything about passing down traditions that accompany this special day.  So…today, I’m stopping that cycle!

I’ve been looking at one of my favorite sites (Pinterest!) to get some ideas of what can be done to celebrate Palm Sunday.  There are some great ideas on there, and I’ve shared a few on the LifeWay Kids Easter board on Pinterest.

Here are a couple of the ideas I pinned to our board. Tracing hands to make a “palm” leaf or guiding a child to make a road on construction paper and then adding strips of fabric as “the cloaks” that were put down in front of Jesus as He entered Jerusalem.

There are tons of others out there! I  hope you’ll take some time to gather ideas to use in your Sunday School class or maybe even in your home. If you’ve got some great ways your church celebrates Palm Sunday, please share!

Fun

Fall Crafts for Kids!

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katie-thumb.jpgFall is one of my favorite times of the year to craft!  Something about the cooler temperatures and sunshine put me in the creative spirit.  It’s so much fun to see what other folks are crafting up with their kids and I love how easy it is to find new craft ideas on Pinterest!

We even have our very own Fall Crafts board on our LifeWay Kids profile!  You can find links to lots of projects that would be perfect to do at home with kids or in a ministry classroom!

Check out these super cute "I am thankful for…" chalkboard placemats!

 

 

 

What are some of your favorite Fall crafts?  Is there anything you make every year with your kids? Leave us a comment!

Fun

Rain!

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katie-thumb.jpgAfter several weeks without rain here in Nashville, we’ve finally had a rainy day– and according to the weather, it looks like we may be inside at some point all week!  Whether extreme heat or rainy days are keeping you indoors, what are some of your favorite activities to do inside? We’re always on the lookout for great games and crafts that help us enjoy our time indoors!

Here are a couple that I think look like SO much fun!  

 

Homemade Puff Paint from Sandy Toes & Popsicles

rain_foampaint.jpg

Roll Out the Marble Game from Spoonful

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Sunday School

Quick Mothers Day Gift Ideas

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wileyBWsmall.jpgMothers Day is coming. Well, it’s pretty much here – this Sunday, May 14. It’s always fun to make a little something for moms. But…life can intervene. Here are some ideas that you can use with simple supplies from your resource room.

Spoiler alert – If you have a child in my class, you may want to skip this post. I’m going to reveal some "secrets" from our plans for this Sunday. (I don’t think any of my moms will see this, but better to be safe.) Okay, alert over.

We’ve made heart and butterfly magnets for our moms the past couple of years – and will do so again this Sunday. We use (purchased) pasteboard shapes, self-adhesive jewels and foam stickers, and self-adhesive magnets. 

butterfly.jpg

heart.jpg

Don’t have these things on-hand in your classroom? Let’s modify it! Cut construction paper into heart shapes. Use whatever stickers are available. (My kids love circles and labels from the office supply store. Cheaper and easy to create your own decorations.) Or use glue sticks with paper scraps to decorate the hearts. No magnets? Punch two holes in the top of the heart (on opposites sides) and tie a length of yarn through the two holes. Now you can hang the heart on a doorknob.

heart2.jpg

Don’t have time to cut shapes? Just cut construction paper into strips and let the kids loose with stickers. Many moms would love to have a great marker for their Bibles.

marker.jpg

Cut squares or rectangles of clear contact plastic. Peel off the back and kids can stick tissue paper scraps on the paper. Cover with another piece of contact plastic and trim the edges. Punch a hole at the top, thread yarn through the hole, and tie yarn ends together. Moms can hang the suncatcher in a window or from the mirror in the car. Or just use a variety of paper scraps to make a bookmark (or to cast shadows when hung in a window).

contactplastic.jpg

Just have paper and markers or crayons? Ask kids to draw pictures of their moms. Glue the portrait to a larger colored piece of paper to create a frame. Or cut paper strips and glue around the edges of the portrait to create a frame.

portrait.jpg

Kids can trace around their hands and cut out the hand shapes. Glue the hands to a craft stick or thin paper strip to create flowers.

Or make a flower with a coffee filter and craft stick.

Or even a foam cup and craft stick.

 

flowerfront.jpg

flowerback.jpg

What quick ideas do you have for Mothers Day?

 

Encouragement, Fun, Resources, Sunday School, Training, Vacation Bible School

Ministering to the Creative Kid.

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How do you connect with the kids in your ministry who would rather doodle than listen to your stories about burning bushes, the ark, or the cross?

I was that kid. Craft time at VBS was my favorite and I LOVED when my teachers used big posters with lots of colors… and I loved it even more when I got to write or draw on the poster…and Playdoh- Playdoh is God’s gift to the creative child. It’s fabulous!

A large majority of creative people, kids included, learn by seeing things and by having a hand in them. They need a visual. Teach with posters, pictures, etc and use illustrations that they can visualize so that these kids can really connect and learn. If these kids are like I was when I was little, I thought in pictures, and still do to a large extent. I connect with pictures more than text.

Add activities like illustrating a story, painting the names of God, or building a Tower of Babel with paper. Tap into the competive nature of some of your kids by making this a race, a contest, or a group mural, and always display the art or let them take it home. Let creative kids know that you value their creativity…and encourage them to continue to develop it. Let them illustrate the story on a dry erase board as another kid reads the story and a few more act it out. When ministering to lots of different kids, lots of different types of activities are the secret weapon of success.

How do you minister to your creative kids? 

 

*This post is the second in a week-long series of guest blogs from CentriKid blog writer Mary Carlise.  You can read her other posts in our archives.

 

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