Building Christians

Abraham and Sarah Game

2011-06-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

Story: God tells Abraham to go to the place that God will show him. Abraham took his entire household with him. God promises Abraham that his descendents will be as numerous as the stars.

Materials: 500 large star stickers, small traffic cones, 24 blindfolds

Set up: traffic cones are placed an easy distance apart to accomodate the line of children, and a short obstacle course is put in place. For multiple rounds, leaders adjust the cones to lead in a slightly different way.

To Play: Children are blindfolded once they are in line, with one child left sighted to lead the group where a games leader indicates. Sighted children switch out with others every few cones. Leaders arrange for the obstacles to lead the children to three stations, where they will receive star stickers. The game ends when time is up or when each child has had a turn to lead.

Noah Relay

2011-06-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

Story: Noah

Goal: Bring the water to help the ark float.

Set up: Have a few large buckets filled with water on one side of the drive. On the other side, have three empty smaller buckets with plastic boats in them at the head of lines. Next to the boats, put one large carwash sponge on the ground. Divide children into two or three teams by colors (red, purple, blue) and send them to their lines.

Round One: Children take sponges relay style to fill in water bucket(s) and return to line. They must wring out the water from the sponge into their bucket. The first group to overflow their bucket wins.

Round Two: Children relay again, this time trying to carry the sponges between their knees or elbows.

Naming the Animals Game

2011-06-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

Story: God asked Adam to name all of the animals.

Materials: 2 sets of 12 cards with the following animal names on them: lion, dog, cat, owl, chicken, duck, sheep, pig, elephant, mouse, frog, fish.

Set up: Divide the children into two groups of up to twelve children. Distribute the cards randomly. If a group has fewer than twelve children, make sure the fish card is distributed. The child who draws the fish card is Adam. Ask the fish card drawer to make the sound of a fish, then let them in on the real reason for the card.

Round One: Each child makes the noise of the animal on his/her card so that Adam may guess who s/he is.

Round Two: Redistribute cards randomly (including fish). Each child must act out the animal for Adam to guess.

The Fall Game

2011-06-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

Story: God said it was not good for humans to be alone. The serpent tempted Eve when she was alone, and humans fell.

Objective: Show how we are stronger together through a specialized tag game.

Set up: Play this game in an open area, preferably one with few sharp objects such as sticks or rocks. Divide the children into sets of two and one. The sets of two are Adam and Eve, the sets of one are serpents.

Round One: The paired children must link elbows at all times, but may run together. The serpents are "it," but they may only crawl. If either member of the team is tagged, they must go out. End round one when all pairs are tagged or after three to five minutes.

Round Two: Children are no longer paired. Reassign serpent roles so new children are "it." All children must play tag while crawling. End after three to five minutes.

Round Three: Pair some children again. This time, the paired children are "it." Serpents still crawl. If either of them touches a serpent, the serpent is out.

Dancing Prayers

2011-06-15T07:09:00.000-07:00

In our home, we try to act in ways worthy of imitation. One of our daily habits is to listen to a playlist of hymns and spiritual songs, then do walking or dancing prayers to the music. I use simple Shaker motions or free flowing movements to involve my space in the prayer. Below are a few of the musical selections, movements, and props we use for prayer.

Music

Mozart's Requiem to process grief: I especially like the tone painting in this work, which gives one the sense of flowing souls toward the mercy seat, of choirs of angels psalming their maker, of the trembling in the soul exposed to greatest love. When a situation is too hard to pray in words, I often pray in movement to the "Rex Tremendae" from this work. The music speaks so clearly of encounter with the fount of mercy, the desire for salvation, the trembling cry of "Rex!" that is both terror and plea. I raise my arms to the east and pour my person downward as though receiving and passing along that great mercy. The Requiem is available through many channels and is on youtube as well.

Mary Rocap's Hallelujah!Amen : This CD by a local artist, available here, has several great walking tunes, including my favorite walking hymn, her arrangement of, "Where the Soul of Man Never Dies." When I feel stuck in a rut, I put on this CD and get walking.

Michael Card's Starkindler, Hymns, and A Fragile Stone: The Starkindler's Celtic bent makes for great prayer play with rhythm instruments, skipping, or wild movements with playsilks. I love some of the hymns on the Hymns CD, especially "All That Was Lost," a deeply healing song about the resurrection. I often do free movement dances with the children to the Hymns CD. The Fragile Stone CD tells many stories from the life of Peter, which make for good jamming, baby wiggle dances, and interpretive movements. You may purchase these CD's in several places online.

Singing: We also sing various hymns and praise songs as we move. My son particularly likes to pretend to process around the "church" at home, singing bits of liturgical music as he goes.

Props

Rhythm Instruments: We have a variety of rhythm instruments such as woodblocks, clackers, maracas, bells, in our home, partly because I supply instruments for the children's choir as well. If you do not have maracas, you can put beans inside other containers (small bowls with lids, toilet roll tubes, plastic Easter eggs) and tape them shut. Hands are an excellent instrument as well.

Playsilks: We have small, medium, and large playsilks which we use to emphasize movement, flow, and song. If you cannot afford playsilks, silk or nylon scarves from the thrift shop work well. I find that the silks help center the children when they are out of sorts. I will start to dance with the silks, running them over the tots' heads, and they soon calm and join in.

Movements

Shaker movements: We use simple hand movements such as alternating facing open palms up and down in rhythm, bowing, and turning. The open palms help us focus on receiving grace and setting aside the burdens of sin.

Flowing movements: These are free form, but the idea is to begin each movement in one's core, so that it comes out from the center. A wrist movement starts in the chest and shoulder and extends out through fingers flexed in the direction of flow. The whole body tries to take up and interpret the music. I use this sort of movement with classical music and introspective hymns.

Baby dance: I learned many movements in parent/child dance classes I took with my son for several months. These include extending arms to the side and tipping them back and forth, holding the child horizontally and swinging/swaying toward and away from another person or mirror, alternating waving silks up high or down low. The key to these movements is that they are large and that they cross over one of the hemispheres of the body (right/left or top/bottom). The children find comfort in a stock set of movements to which one might return. If you have time, taking a movement class with your child or children might enrich your prayer life as well.

Note that faith in God Incarnate requires the use of our bodies as well as our other faculties in prayer. If you have not tried moving prayers, I hope that this post encourages you to do so.

I did not receive any sort of compensation for these recommendations.

Bible Story Game: Queen of Sheba

2011-02-03T09:11:00.000-08:00

Queen of Sheba Camel Relay

Goal:
The Queen of Sheba wants to give Solomon lots of gold. The children will take turns dressing as a camel to carry gold back to their team’s container.

Materials:
Camel costumes, plastic gold coins, fancy cups (we used decorated baby bottle lids, but any very small cup would do), containers

Set-up:
Place the camel costumes and fancy cups at the head of each line along with the team containers. Have the gold coins in a bucket a fair distance away (like on the other side of the driveway if playing in front of the PH).

To Play:
Divide kids into three groups by colors –yellow, blue, and green (correlates with fancy cup colors). Try to make the teams even. At “go,” first child in line puts on camel costume, takes cup, runs to fill with gold coins, and empties them into team’s container. Pass costume and cup to next child, and so on, till everyone on team has gone. At the end of Round 1, team with most coins wins. For Round 2, teams continue to play until one team’s container is completely filled (almost to overflowing). First team to fill container wins.

Bible Story Game: Get the Ark to the Temple

2011-02-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

Get the Ark to the Temple Relay

Goal:
The temple is still a construction zone. The kids will pair up within their teams to navigate a route while carrying the ark.

Materials:
Arks (made of cardboard boxes with dowels through for handles, all painted gold), yellow crepe paper, blindfolds

Set-up:
Using the yellow crepe paper, mark out a circuit around which the kids will carry the ark. If you are indoors due to weather, use pillars and chairs/furniture to hold up the paper. Have blindfolds on hand for the older kids.

To play:
Divide the kids into two groups. Within the groups, pair off the kids arbitrarily. Line up the teams by pairs. For the first round, 4yo’s and K go around both facing forward, older kids go around the relay with the person in back facing backwards. For the second round, have the 4yo’s and K go around sideways (side-stepping) to add a challenge. Older groups have the person in front blindfolded for the second round.

Bible Story Game: David and Goliath

2011-02-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

David and Goliath

Goal:
David slew the giant Goliath with just a stone. Kids will try to get rubber ball stones through a (~12") circle in Goliath’s forehead.

Materials:
Goliath, “stone” rubber balls, sidewalk chalk

Set-up:
Lean Goliath against a tree or otherwise stabilize him. Draw a throw line on the ground with sidewalk chalk, or have a throw line established if you are indoors due to weather.

To Play:
Divide the kids into two groups. One team gets brown “stones,” the other, gray “stones.” Line them up behind the throw line. They take turns going up to try to throw their ball through the hole in Goliath’s head. Whichever team has the most stones go through wins that round. Have the children gather their stones again between rounds. Play three or more rounds, depending on time constraints.

Younger children should take turns between teams (alternating team 1 child, team 2 child, and so on) so each child may concentrate better on their throw. For the older kids, let the children from both teams take their turns simultaneously for an added challenge (at least on later rounds).

Note:
Younger children (4yo’s and K) may need Goliath to “take a nap” on his side so that they can aim better. Let them have whichever advantages you deem fair after the first round to make sure they have fun with the game instead of just getting frustrated. Make sure that when constructing giant Goliath out of foam core board, you make a truly giant head. At least a foot diameter hole in the head is needed to make this game playable.

Bible Story Game: Wash Smelly David

2011-02-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

Wash Smelly Shepherd David

Goal:
David has to come in from the sheep pastures to meet Samuel, but he’s smelly from hanging out with sheep. The teams of kids will compete to see who can wash him up the best.

Materials:
Smelly “David” Posters (Drawings on matte side of poster boards), cotton balls, tub dye tabs, 3 buckets, sidewalk chalk

Set-up:
Fill the buckets with water with room for cotton balls. Add a few tub dye tabs to the water (one color/bucket), enough to color the water deeply. Divide the packs of cotton balls evenly and add to each bucket. Tie or tape David poster to a chair before group arrives. Sweep around David so cotton balls may be reused. Draw a line on driveway a fair distance from the poster – fair for each age group, with a smaller distance for the younger groups. The children will throw cotton balls at the poster from this line, so don’t make it too far away.

To Play:
Divide the kids into three groups, red, yellow, blue, by going down the line and tapping kids on the head or pointing while saying one of the colors. Have the children line up several paces away from the throw line behind buckets with their team’s color of cotton balls. At “go,” the children at the head of the lines each grab a ball, run to the line, and throw, aiming at David. They return, going to the back of the line, and the next child on the team advances, and so on. Once everyone from each team has gone once, pause to see which team is ahead on washing smelly David. The team with the most color splotches on David is ahead.

For round 2, let the children continue to take turns until their buckets are empty. (The cotton ball count may not be entirely even, so everyone stops when the first team runs out). If the older kids need to be more challenged, draw a new throw line farther away for round 2. The team with the most color splotches on David at the end wins.

Reuse as many cotton balls as possible so that later groups have plenty.
There is one poster/games session.

Bible Story Game: Daniel and the food

2011-02-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

THEME: Daniel – choice of food (what nourishes our faith?); fiery furnace – standing for God, the appearance of the fourth man

Game Background:

Daniel asked permission to let his people eat vegetables, and they grew stronger and healthier than the people eating only fancy court food. The children will gather the healthy food.

To Play:

Divide into three color-coded teams, lined up behind pinwheels. In this timed relay, kids go one by one, competing by teams to collect and bring back as many veggies as possible from "farm," which is a swimming pool filled with about 600-700 carrots. Tip for timed relay: give the kids a thirty second warning/verbal countdown from ten so they don’t freak out when time’s up. The tricky part is that they can only carry the carrots using:

· Round 1: armpits (~3 minutes)

· Round 2: chins (~3.5 minutes)

· Round 3: knees (~4 minutes)

Set Up:

Put about 600-700 full-size carrots into the empty swimming pool on far side of driveway. Have a cloth or a large box available for each team at the back of their relay line, where they can deposit their carrots for counting. It’s a good idea to have some bags available after and on the next day for parishioners to take carrots home to cook.

Tips:

Adjust times longer and have fewer rounds if all team members are not getting a turn. The children may gather as many carrots/turn as they can carry back with the specified body area.

Bible Story Game: Ezekiel and the Dry Bones

2011-02-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

THEME: Ezekiel and the dry bones (Ezekiel 37) – the kingdom was divided after Solomon died; God promises that the northern and southern kingdoms will someday be rejoined in peace, harmony and goodwill. Where are the places in the world (and in our lives) that need reconciliation and God’s new life?

Game Background:

God’s making the bones connect together so He can make them into living people again. The children will gather together one of the skeletons/team.

To Play:

The children are divided into three teams and lined up behind their pinwheels. The children take turns running to the dry swimming pool to retrieve a bone from the pile in their team’s color. As all the bones are gathered for a team, the team assembles the skeleton. First completed skeleton wins. If one round does not suffice for the older children, have a second round wherein the child selecting a bone is blindfolded at the pool, relying on the team’s shouts to know when the bone he/she holds up is the right color. (If that option is used, have a few pillow cases available for quick on/off blindfolds.)

Set Up:

Dry out inflatable pool from previous day. Paint six sets of cardboard skeleton bones in different colors (on back would probably look best), so that there is one complete skeleton in each of the following colors: yellow, red, blue, purple, green, and orange. The teams will be seeking out the red, blue, and purple pieces, so make sure the paint colors are not similar to one another. Mix up the bones in the pool. Have the kids line up by team behind their pinwheels. Between rounds, if there are multiple rounds, remix the bones. Some children find this sort of game surprisingly difficult, but others breeze through it. In case the game goes quickly, have the blindfolds on hand for a second round.

Source for skeletons here (or similar from another vendor)

Bible Story Game: Elijah and the Priests of Baal

2011-02-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

THEME: Elijah – Priests of Baal? (1 Kings 18) – does God ever go away? Does God ever sleep? Who are our idols? What does a false god look like?

Game Background:

God sent fire out of heaven to eat up all the food, wood, and water on the altar when Elijah prayed, but the altars of the priests of Baal were just wet piles. We’re going to make sure the altars are good and soaked with this water relay.

To Play:

Kids are divided into three teams. A child at the head of the line for each team is given a giant carwash sponge with which s/he runs to collect water from the pool, then returns and squeezes the water into the “altar” at the front of his/her team’s line. The team whose altar is filled up/overflows first wins. Round Two options: Each member of the team goes only once, and team with most water wins; or kids must use only elbows to carry/squeeze the sponge. (Hint: they really like to get wet, so be prepared to also get wet, and let round 2 be very silly.)

Set Up:

Put the pinwheels out for lines to form. Place buckets, topped with a cardboard surround that has wood and maybe some barbeque decorated on (or sticks glued on) just behind the start of each line. Across the driveway, fill the inflatable pool with water. Provide each team with a large sponge, and (have a back-up set just in case). The inflatable pool and buckets, and probably the carwash sponges, are in the Christian Ed storage room already. All you have to make/buy for this game is the cardboard toppers and pinwheels. The carwash sponges are available at the Dollar Store or Target-type stores if they show too much wear and tear to use another year.

Note: These games are designed for our parish's Vacation Church School use, so some of the instructions are particular to our particular needs. Adapt as needed.

Bible Story Game: Solomon Disobeys God

2011-02-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

THEME: Solomon disobeyed God. Obedience – to listen deeply. What does it mean to be obedient to God? How do we listen to God?

Game Background:

Solomon disobeyed God by marrying wives who worshiped false gods. Solomon allowed his wives to persuade him to do things that God did not want. Our game will focus on helping Solomon out.

To Play:

Each team has color-coded sayings in the “Temple” and posters of the bad wives giving Solomon advice that goes against what God wants. Team members take turns (relay-style) retrieving sayings from the box (Temple) that match their team color, then team members work together to match the God-approved saying to the bad advice. The first team to assemble all the correct sayings wins.

Set Up:

Make poster board drawings of queens for each team, with sayings in a box that can be covered by a colored paper with the correct saying. Velcro tabs for each speech box will allow for application and reuse. Each color-coded speech box paper should ideally be laminated in order to hold up to the excitement of the games. Additionally, a cardboard box should be painted or otherwise decorated to look like a temple. The “temple,” which represents where the kids go to get the correct sayings from God, should be set up on the opposite side of the driveway from the kids’ lines, which should start several feet on the other side of the driveway. Queen posters may represent several nationalities/styles of finery, as Solomon had a LOT of queens from all over. Try to make three sets of queens, but if time does not permit, two sets should be fine. If there are only two teams, though, there may be need for a “Round Two” where the game is made more complicated, for instance, by having the kids go through the game again, but try matching the sayings without looking, or by having them use only their elbows or something similarly silly. Queen saying sets follow (bad advice // godly advice) – feel free to modify/make your own, though:

· Kick puppies and kittens // Take care of animals.

· Poor people don’t matter. Ignore them. // Care for the poor and love them.

· Don’t share your food. //Feed the hungry people around you.

· Bathing is gross. Just wear perfume if you stink.//Wash yourself.

· Prayer is dumb. God doesn’t care. //God loves to hear you and to give you peace in prayer.

· You should worship pots and pans. //Only worship God.

· If you wear nice clothes, you don’t have to be nice. // Everyone should be kind to one another.

· God only likes people with money. //God loves everybody the same.

Not just Children's Bibles

2011-02-03T06:20:00.001-08:00

We have a new favorite children's Bible in our mix. This Bible, from the Orthodox tradition, includes watercolor representations of icons and scenes. Because we use icons as part of our family's devotion, this book plays a helpful role in making connections between the story of faith and Christian art and prayer. Like the Catholic children's Bible, the text is very straightforward in this edition. It's not the sort of book one gives to a child to read on his own, but then, the Bible was not meant to be read on one's own.

While we have many children's Bibles in our home, from which we read often, we do not only expose our children to juvenile Bibles. For Christmas, my husband chose the beautifully illustrated Bible of Borso D'Este for our daughter's big gift. Even though she is only six months old, our baby girl loves touching the illuminated pages. Our two and a half year old son has long enjoyed looking through our books of icon prints. It's no coincidence that Western Christians called stained glass windows and sacred art, "the Bible of the poor." A great deal of holy tradition is communicated through prayerful painting, glass work, and iconography.

Local libraries may have a few volumes of iconography (university libraries have many), but searching through Google images will also yield good results for many of the major events of the church year. If you would like to see some of the traditional depictions of major Old Testament events and the life of Christ and the Church, try searching for subjects such as, "icon Jesus Baptism," "icon Transfiguration," "Pentecost," "Visit of Magi," and so on. Sites that sell icon reproductions often provide a description of the image's history and meaning. Try looking at skete.com, theprinteryhouse.org, or Bridge Building Images (which has more contemporary images). You might find images that your family or group finds meaningful for understanding more of life in God.

Parachute Prayers

2009-10-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

Supplies: a large playsilk or a parachute; drawings or cutouts of prayer focus (optional)

Gather children around playsilk so that everyone is holding a section. Start with a simple opening prayer or allow the kids to start. If you use drawings, have the children toss the paper into the middle of the silk when they pray. After each prayer request, all say or sing, "Lord, hear our prayer." When all have had a turn, all say the Lord's prayer together. As the prayer requests build up, let the children bounce the silk/parachute up and down by wiggling their sections. The motion symbolizes prayers rising to God and helps active children focus by giving them an energetic way to pray.

I use this way of praying with the children's choir at the end of each rehearsal. We have enough children so that I use two canopy size playsilks. You can modify this prayer method for toddlers and/or a single child by holding one side of a regular size silk or blanket (but silks move easier) and having the child hold the other side. Then you both wiggle the silk/blanket while you say a simple prayer.

Helpful Link

2009-05-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

Simple Kids Bathtime Meditations

Bible Story Game - Anointing Saul

2009-05-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

Story basis: Anointing Saul

Materials: “Saul” drawings on sticks (made from washable markers and coffee filters, then glued to foam core board), bubbles, boundary paint

Teams/roles:
Sort kids by colors (red/blue/purple), with only the oldest group divided into three teams, the younger two groups divided into two teams.

Set-up:
Before the kids arrive, set up the appropriate number of fresh “Saul” posters. Have bubbles ready to distribute. It would be easiest to sort the teams as you pass out the bubbles.

Strategy:
Without crossing the boundaries (or even leaning over them), teams of kids blow bubbles at their Saul. At the end of the games session, the team with the most runny Saul wins.

Frequency:
This game is only played once through, but kids shouldn’t get bored since bubbles are hard to aim. They will also be excited that they get to keep the bubbles.

Notes:
Each child gets his/her own container of bubbles. Ask them to seal the bubbles before they leave, especially if they are on their way to the nave next. If one of the younger groups is larger than projected, there will be one extra “Saul” to anoint, just in case. But he’s the only spare, so only use him if the 2nd/3rd grade group goes over 21 children. [K&1st should be two color-sorted teams for this game; 4th/5th/6th should be three color-sorted teams]

Extra Note on Sorting:
We sort into “color” teams instead of by age to prevent the older kids from having an unfair advantage.

Bible Story Game - Ruth Gleaning

2009-05-03T16:33:00.000-07:00

Story basis: Ruth gleaning

Materials: thousands of cotton balls, buckets

Teams/roles: Sort kids by colors (red/blue/purple)

Set-up:
Scatter cotton balls generously, evenly, and widely over the front yard grass, avoiding the area nearest the street or any other places you deem off-limits for safety purposes. Each team gathers around its bucket. Games leaders draw a line at the same level in each bucket, up to 2/3rds the volume.

Strategy:
When the leader says, “Go”, each team scrambles to glean a bucket full of cotton balls before the others. The catch? Each child may pick up only one cotton ball at a time, returning the single cotton ball to the bucket before picking up the next cotton ball. Youngest kids should only be asked to fill the bucket to a line that games leaders draw that evening.

Frequency:
If by chance the older kids manage to fill their buckets to the line and there’s time, they may go again, this trying to fill their buckets all the way in the remaining time.

Notes:
Make sure to re-scatter the cotton balls between groups so that there is plenty of material to glean. A silly skit by the teen helpers explaining gleaning may be particularly helpful this night. This game may be performed indoors if needed.

Bible Story Games - Crossing the Desert into the Promised Land

2009-04-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a series of VBS games from a couple of years ago, when the kids learned stories of traveling through the desert into the promised land. These descriptions are not quite as thorough because I led the games myself, but I can answer any questions you may have in the comments. Note that when you are delegating to others, it's best to be as specific and thorough as possible. Many people have great gifts of execution but extreme nervousness when it comes to architecting/theory of games/teaching. If you equip people with the details and reasoning, you give them what they need to grow into further fullness of teaching and leading abilities.

Each game is meant to fill a twenty-minute time slot, with about 20-30 participants.

Sunday: Making the Bitter Waters Sweet
-Groups are divided into three teams (except Kindergarten, which works together)
-Each child gets a piece of cardboard tubing.
-Each team gets a pellet of tub dye. They are lined up about 30 feet
from a wading pool. The teams have a minute to strategize.
-Rules: the teams have to pass the pellet through their tubes,
eventually putting the pellet in the pool. The child with the pellet
in her/his tube may not lift his/her feet from the ground till the
pellet is passed to the next person. First team to change the water
wins.
-Repeats once or twice, depending on how quickly the kids figure out
the "caterpillar" method of winning.

Monday: Gathering Quail
-This is an elaborated version of a water balloon fight.
-Ground is strewn with 100 water balloon "quails."
-Each team gathers as many as possible without breaking them.
-We declare that the sun is coming up, and the quails will go bad if not used.
-Mayhem ensues.
-Children pick up as many quail remnants as possible to deposit in a
trash bag before they leave.

Tuesday: 10 Commandments Relay
-Kids divided into three teams, red, blue, and purple.
-In a "cloud" made of pillow filling, there are ten commandments for
each team color, plus lightning bolts for teams with more than ten
children.
-Children must put on Moses' "beard" and run to get a commandment from
the cloud. They pass the commandment down the line, and the next kid
wears the beard and runs for another commandment.
-At the back of the lines are tablets with velcro spots for each
commandment. The team to get their commandments (and lightning bolts)
in order first wins. (The commandments are numbered on the back, so
that's not a mean requirement).

Wednesday: Chicken Spies Relay
-This one is basically just to make us all look hilarious. Lots of fun.
-Three teams in lines.
-Kids take turns "running" around a Promised Land sign and back to
their lines, with an 18" purple ball (grape) between their knees and
fake pomegranates and figs under their elbows.
-This teaches them about how the spies were chickens.

Bible Story Game - Gideon Chooses an Army

2009-04-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Story basis: Gideon recruiting an army

Materials: small cups, swimming pool filled with water (hose is at back of house, but reaches to the front), three buckets, three pinwheels

Teams/roles: Sort kids by colors (red/blue/purple)

Set-up:
Each child gets his/her own small cup. Teams line up behind pinwheels. Pool is filled with water, which games leaders should take care to keep free of grass or bugs.

Strategy:
For round 1, children compete relay-style to fill up the buckets at the back of their lines from water in their cups. The obstacle is that the children must hold the cups in their mouths and fill them from the pool (placed on the other side of the driveway) without using their hands. When the child returning with water passes his/her team’s pinwheel, the next child in line may go to the pool. The buckets are placed at the back of the lines. If desired, the rule can be that each child goes once, then whichever team’s bucket is fullest wins the round. Round 2: Same strategy except this time children may carry the cups in their hands.

Frequency:
This game should only go through 2 rounds. If the older kids manage to go really fast, they can do a third round where they aim to fill the bucket rather than just go through one turn/child.

Notes:
Do not reuse cups between children. Throw them away at the end of each group’s time.

Bible Story Game - Battle of Jericho

2009-04-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

Story basis: Battle of Jericho

Materials: Hula-hoop(s), “trumpet” noise makers, red cloth(s)

Teams/Roles: Jericho, Rahab, Israelites

Set-up:
7 kids are chosen to be inside the/each hula-hoop. They must turn around while noise makers and the red cloth(s) are distributed. If the group is small enough, only one hula-hoop and one red cloth is used; otherwise, divide the group into two and have 7 kids from each half go into the hula-hoop to represent Jericho. In each group of kids, one child is “Rahab.” Rahab is given a red cloth to hide behind his/her back. All other children not in “Jericho” hide a “trumpet” behind their backs.

Strategy:
The kids in the Hula-hoop – Jericho – approach children outside the hoop one at a time and ask to see what they have behind their backs. If the child has a trumpet, the child blows it, and one of the Jerichoites must leave the hula-hoop. The Jericho-ites’ goal is to find Rahab before all seven of them are kicked out of the hoop. If they find Rahab first, they win that round; if not, the Israelites win (notice that the odds are stacked heavily in Israel’s favor). After each round, the children rotate through the hula-hoop. Make sure each trumpeter keeps his/her own trumpet to avoid germ spreading.

Frequency:
This game should be able to go through at least two rounds with the youngest children, and probably 3 or 4 with the older groups.

Notes:
There will be enough “trumpets” for all the children to take one with them; trumpets will not be reused between kids or groups. Do not let them leave with the red cloths, though.

Lesson from Hymnody: Joy to the World

2008-10-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

No more let sin and sorrow reign
Or thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessing known
Far as the curse is found.

"Recapitulation" is one of the oldest descriptions of how Christ saves us. It can mean a lot of things at once: summing up, fulfilling, putting a new head on, gathering up everything and pointing it in a new direction. Practically, recapitulation is a big word describing how Jesus has more than undone all the evil ever done in this world. He undoes the knots of sin that mar the rope of human history, and also tethers the rope to a redemptive end so that everything starts pulling in a holy direction.

All Saints' Day Teaching Activities

2008-10-26T12:37:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of activities you can use in your parish to teach about the communion of saints.

Wash Stones in the Churchyard or Columbarium

A friend of mine came up with this idea (thanks, Deedee), and we are implementing it in our parish this All Saints' Sunday. The idea is simple: as a way to show love to the saints who've gone before us, gather parishioners to wash the headstones in your columbarium or church yard. Many families honor their recently departed relatives by cleaning headstones on national holidays; this parish activity places honoring the dead firmly in the Christian tradition of communion of the saints. Once a part of God's family, death does not separate us from the love of God.

Decorate Placemats

If they are honest, few people really understand this concept we confess in our creed. This activity teaches children and adults about the Communion of Saints in context of ongoing life in the household of God.

Here's the high-fallutin' theological background you'll need to understand fully:

We enter God's family through the tub. God calls us in for supper. We go straight to the tub and get scrubbed clean (baptism), God tousles our hair (chrismation), and we sit down at the Father's table for a big meal (Eucharist). Not only that, but we find that there's a special seat already waiting for us when we get there, because God always wanted us to come.

Now for the brass tacks:

Equipment:
Blank paper placemats (found at party supply stores or online), markers, crayons, sparkly jewels, stickers, cut-outs, stencils (or whatever you can come up with for decorating), a few tables, a poster explaining the logic

Volunteer load:
You need someone to make the poster, at least one informed adult (and a few teens) to help guide participants through the process.

The Logic:

All baptized are members of the communion of saints. We all have a place at God’s table.
Everyone baptized has a place at God’s table. Jesus makes us holy when we eat with him.
Holy means “set apart,” like you have a place set apart for you at God’s table. So if you are baptized, you are set apart. That makes you holy. Holy people are called “saints.”
When we pray about the “communion of saints,” we are talking about how God sets a place at His table for each person baptized into Jesus.

What to Do:
Decorate the placemat with images that remind you of holy people you know or knew. The holy people may be members of your family, dead or alive, or saints you’ve learned about from other times.

I'll post another activity later this week.
Peace.

Beyond Babysitting

2008-10-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

So you're charged with providing childcare during a church event. Does that mean all you can give the children is basic babysitting? God forbid! Here are a couple of low-key games that work well for toddlers through age 5 or so.

Act out a Bible Story

Old testament stories like Creation and Noah's ark work best for this game. Get the children to act out the characteristics of the animals and/or people (or other creatures). An advantage is that quiet children can take important but non-active roles (the olive tree in the Noah story, any creature in Creation). You may have the active kids be particular animals/other creatures (the wind) the whole time, or they may go through the motions of each in succession. The only requirement is that you guide the children a bit in knowing how/what to act out. For instance, get them to act out the rain and wind, the rising and setting of the sun, the wriggling of snakes or buzzing of bees, swaying of trees, etc.

What You're Wearing

The what you're wearing game is not specifically Christian unless you guide the children toward thinking of Jesus. Here's how it works: Each child must declare him/herself to be someone/something that could wear the clothes they are wearing. For instance, I am wearing a red teeshirt. I might say that I am an apple, or that I work for the fire department, or that I am a princess, etc. After a few rounds of each child contributing, the leader may turn the conversation toward Christian teaching by saying they are Jesus' friend, or the Good Samaritan, or the woman at the well, or any character with which children might be familiar.

The Right Kind of Leader

Sure, you'd love to carefully hand-pick the childcare, but most of the time you're stuck with what you have, right? You may not be attracting volunteers/paid helpers to this service if you put child care as the lowest rung on the ladder in a Christian education program. Ideally, every child care time should be led by a group of people who love children, at least one of whom demonstrates the spiritual gift of pastoring. Pastors (in terms of spiritual gifts) come in all shapes and sizes and callings in life; they are not just the formal clergy. In every parish, there is most likely at least one "pastor" among every ten or so people. You can recognize pastors by their ability to redirect, and that ability is exactly what you need to establish spiritually nurturing child care. Redirectors may be the people who think raising children is easy or the folks who can get you out of a bad mood and thinking along a new train of thought or the conversationists who seem to get you to speak from your better side. They have an ability to lead not by issuing do's and don't's, but by showing the way or suggesting other possibilities for you to follow. Look around and try to find some of these people. Depending on the size of the group, a child care team may have an adult or two, plus teenagers, or may be as few as two unrelated adults. Try to build a list of "pastors" so that you have one of them leading the child care group at every opportunity. (You may even ask your church's formal "Pastor" to pitch in with child care from time to time). The creative presence of a pastor is your best bet in building Christians by making child care go beyond babysitting.

Classroom Management: Gauging Negative Emotions

2008-10-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, power struggles and miscommunications are rare in teaching. This post will help you navigate should such a situation arise.

Listen to Yourself

A friend who was a guidance counselor once shared this invaluable situation gauge with me, and I've found it useful several times in classroom settings. When you are interacting with a challenging student, check in with your own emotions. If you feel annoyed, the problem is probably related to miscommunication. If you feel angry, the problem is likely rooted in a power struggle.

Miscommunication

Try to really "listen" to what the student is saying; if you have a co-teacher who seems to "get" what the student is saying, let them take the lead for awhile. If you suspect that the student just needs to express some strong emotions and has chosen your class as a safe place to do so, it's a good idea to take action outside the class time. Gently and calmly as possible, redirect the classroom discussion.

If you are dealing with a child, repeat the child's first or most repeated words, "Sam, I know that you think we shouldn't have to paste tissue squares right now. I hear you. Let me help the rest of the class get started, and then we'll talk more, okay?" Go aside with the child to hear him/her out. Usually just repeating what they say so it's clear to them that you understand is all that's required.

If they desire to be heard and want you to take action that you find unsuitable, write a list of possibilities that both of you come up with, including the extremes that one of you absolutely will not allow (pasting tissue squares on the walls or in a neighbor's hair; not using paste at all this week; letting the student sort the colors of tissue squares at the end/beginning of class; letting the student cut out a different shape to decorate). Then go through and eliminate what won't work and let the student choose from the remaining options, with your minimal input if needed. If the problem of miscommunicating goes farther than this with a child, talk with your fellow teacher(s), your Christian education coordinator/Sunday school organizer, and perhaps the child's parents.

I put the parents last on the list because I always act first as if the problem is teacher-side. Children are doing the best they can to tell us exactly what they need, and we can usually adapt easier than they. Some parents might fret if they find that their child isn't fitting in in Sunday school (a likely assumption the parents may make if they, like many today, are nervous about their own lack of faith background). They may try to make the child comply with your version of events rather than hearing the child out; nobody wants that scenario. Since children's Christian education is one of the strongest links many newcomers have to the church, I prefer not to jeopardize their feelings of security by bringing a simple miscommunication problem up if it will likely be blown out of proportion in the parent's mind. Use your best judgment, but also consult the best judgment of your teaching team before making a small matter of miscommunicating into a big deal by prematurely involving parents.

If you're dealing with an ornery adult, you may be more vague about moving on. "Alex, I hear what you're saying. Let's talk more after this, shall we?" (or similar) With an adult, prepare to listen non-judgmentally to whatever the person needs to say. Perhaps the person has a beef with your denomination's policies or feels slighted or unrecognized. You shouldn't feel any need to join in the student's critique; they just want someone - you - to hear them. If the student feels unrecognized, describe a way you've seen the light of God shining through the person's life. If you honestly don't see any giftedness in the student, it's not the student's fault (rather, it's your blindness to grace). Pray that week that God will show you some of the amazing gifts He's given that student, and slip what you learn into conversation next time you see the person. "Jen, I was just thinking this week about how much I look forward to hearing your opinions on outreach. It's clear that you have a passionate love for people, and that really comes through to me."

Power Struggles

If you have someone in your class who is stepping out of bounds and seems to feel comfortable only when challenging you, they don't feel safe. Escalating a power struggle by pulling rank is not a good idea with a child ("Listen to me because I'm the adult/teacher.") or an adult ("Well, I have three degrees in this field, so I know better than you"). Rather, ask God and the wisdom God has put within your own body and mind what may be setting off the person's "fight" response. Sometimes you can sort out a problem by simple shifting physical space. We often get so caught up in our heads that we forget our preciously important bodies (for which God became incarnate to save!). Keep an "ace in the hole" teaching move that you can work in anywhere - "Class, let's go outside to see ____" or "Let's line up now to go see the baptism font" or even, "Everybody, stand up and stretch!" If you are dealing with a large adult group, have everyone find out the answer to a simple question from three other people. Try to make it relevant to your lesson, but if you can't think of something off the bat, try, "What's one time you felt really happy?" Since our joys and desires lead us back to God, you should be able to work that toward your point.

Honestly, it's best to pre-empt power struggles with careful planning and a hospitable set-up. There is an inherent hierarchy in any student-teacher relationship; try to give the advantage to the students as much as possible spacially and by recognizing the students' gifts and speaking of them often. If you can help it, do not make students sit with their backs to the door in closed classrooms. If you see right away that one or two people seem to speak up or have a slightly defiant attitude (amending a little or questioning the exact direction of your points), try to engage their cooperation. Those people may be frustrated teachers who wish they could be up there, but maybe they're too afraid/too tired/ too busy/ too insecure/too young to volunteer. Don't give those people a chance to try to defy you; ask their opinion publicly about points you choose.

If there's one person who seems to always get on your nerves, try listening to them, asking God to show you His love in them, and asking them to help teach in appropriate ways (for instance, ask them to lead a small group in a break-out session). Don't neglect to recognize a person's frustrated gifts just because s/he is young. Ask the child to explain the story or give an example. By helping the frustrated lights to shine, you will not only solve the power struggle problem, but help build the "problem" persons into stronger Christians.

Pray for Them!

Above all, pray for your students. Pray for them by name every day. If you teach a rotating group, as is often the case with adults, pray for the faces you see or generally for all who may attend. Pick any prayer from your tradition or write one of your own. Praying for students is absolutely vital to good teaching and smooth classroom management. Ask God to give you wisdom in bringing out the best in these, and God will grace you abundantly to do so.

Here is a prayer I wrote to pray for my students each day when I worked as a T.A. at the Divinity School. Feel free to adapt it to your use.

Father, who in your gentle mercy sends the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us, pour out on these your children, [list student names here], your peace that passes understanding, understanding equal to their need in life and study, and superfluous grace, that they may know you, grow in you, and have love, strength, and courage to feed your people. Through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit I pray, Amen.

Prayer with Small Children

2008-10-22T14:03:00.002-07:00

Bedtime and Meals

Bedtime and meal time prayers are some of the most common times of prayer with little ones. Here are a few simple guidelines to help these rituals "stick."

To promote memory, simple is better.
Help your child address God in terms she or he would understand. For instance, in our family, we call God the Father "Poppa God," because the baby knows the word "Poppa" and has great associations with that person. The key is to preserve a sense of the familial so that later the child will understand God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in terms of relationships.
If your child is still an infant, pray over his or her bottle or first solids. If you are nursing, take time to thank God for the nourishment before (or as) the child latches on. This practice will make prayer natural to the child as s/he ages.

There are so many great meal and bedtime prayers in prayer books and oral tradition that I'm not going to go into detail here. But here are a couple of fun aids you might like as children get a little older:

Bedtime Prayer Die

Table Grace Die
I'm not trying to promote one online merchant over another; this one just had the clearest description of the products I could find. Feel free to google the item names and choose another vendor.

Interactive Prayers: Act it Out

If you have or work with small children, you won't be surprised to learn that they are very concrete thinkers. To them, every fresh idea must be experienced for them to really "get" it. Small children, even those who favor hearing over sight (or vice versa) for other learning, demonstrate a kinetic learning style. They learn by doing. Use their learning strength to help them pray by letting them act out their prayers (within limits with which you are comfortable). Here are some ways you might incorporate movement into prayer time:

If a child is happy or thankful, let them jump for joy or dance or clap. Join in with them. Help them see that saying thanks brings joy.
If the child is your child or the situation makes it otherwise safe and appropriate, let hugs be a part of prayer. Children understand the joy of cuddles from parents and other trusted adult friends, so share in a hug as part of prayer if it helps express the child's feelings. If you are teaching a group of small children, it's almost always best not to hug them individually; model hugging yourself so they may all participate. They'll get the idea and practice on their parents or caregivers at home.
Let children pretend to be sick when praying for healing. Children are naturally empathic and insightful, so they may think to pray for a friend in a specific and meaningful way if they are allowed to access their empathy this way. If you are teaching a group, you don't have to model melodramatically (though the children may go there). A hand to the forehead or throat and an appropriate facial expression will show the children how to practice this way of prayer.
Have children rub their bellies for hunger/food prayers. They know how their bellies feel when they are hungry. They will want to pray for food for other children more fervently when they touch their bellies to remember.

Be Creative with Bible stories

Sacred reading is a recognized form of prayer for adults. With a little prompting, you can help make Bible story time a prayerful experience with your child.

Ask the child about things that interest him or her, like dogs, cats, other animals, space, whatever they are into at the moment. Ask them how they think Jesus would act in relation to said creatures.
When it comes to particular stories, help the child flesh out the setting. What color were the clothes, walls, other items? This forms holy imagination and helps them see that God values their thoughts and desires. Eventually this practice will build the child's perceptions of God's will. They come to be led by God through their joys and desires.
Once your child has practiced the above, have him or her imagine him/herself in the story. What might God say to the child? (Obviously, use your discretion with this idea. Healing and redemption stories work well; violent battle scenes, plagues, or apocalyptic visions might not).

A Good Children's Bible

I've looked over most (if not all) of the currently available children's Bibles, and one stands out over and above all the rest in terms of great artwork, fidelity to the scriptural meaning and accessibility to kids. I highly recommend The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones. This children's Bible doesn't pull punches by leaving out all the difficult parts of scripture. In line with Christian tradition, it draws parallels between tough stories in the Old Testament (like the Sacrifice of Isaac) and the life of Christ and the church.

The second runner-up is My First Catholic Bible illustrated by Natalie Carabetta. This Bible is excerpted from the New Revised Standard Version and serves as a devotional Bible for children. The tough stories are included, and the focus is on narrative passages. Each story includes a prayer starter for the day. If you can afford both of these Bibles for your child or church, I recommend buying them. (Once again, choose your own merchant; I've linked to the places I found them most conveniently).

Bible Story Games

2008-10-22T14:01:00.001-07:00

Games are one of the best ways to teach or to reinforce teaching of Bible stories. If you have a limited amount of time and the story is flexible, you can let small children (ages 3-5) act out a story as you tell it (with assistance). This teaching strategy works particularly well with stories such as Noah's ark or any Gospel lesson involving wildlife or trees. Why trees? Because there are usually shy children who desperately want to participate but are paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake. Here's how a couple of stories might be acted out on the fly:

Noah's Ark

Ask for volunteers to be Noah, the raven, and the dove. Depending on group size and personalities, you may assign movement/speaking roles for Noah's friends and God as well. All children should be given an animal that they can imitate. Especially shy children may be trees or turtles (they don't speak). Have an adult narrate, guiding children through words or actions as they go. For instance, when the animals enter two by two, call out the name of the animals, asking the children to act out the sounds and motions for their part.
"There were lions." Roar! swipe with paws
There were frogs. Ribbit-ribbit! hop-hop
There were birds. Tweet tweet. flying motions
When it comes time for the rain to pour, everyone can stop what they were acting to act out the rain. Rain is acted by saying "drip-drop, drip-drop" and fluttering the fingers in a downward motion.

Consider the Lilies

With a very small group of children, you can even take lots of time to act out parables. With this parable, ask children what makes people beautiful. Children can play dress-up, putting on crowns and rings. They can primp and strut, trying to act beautiful. Then real flowers might be brought in, beautiful without even trying. You may engage the children in conversation about the parable. Did they know that God thinks they are beautiful just as they are, without even trying?

Vacation Bible School Games

Lots of stories can be told separately, then have a game at another time to help kids get into it more fully. At our church we use this teaching method (adding other elements such as crafts and music) at Vacation Church School (which most places would call Vacation Bible School). I will share many of the games in separate posts titled "Bible Story Game - [name of story]." Feel free to use them in your VBS programs, so long as you do not take credit for them in print and you do not receive monetary compensation from using them.