Jean Nelson








OUT OF THE BOX

TEACHING IDEAS

for

Christian Education



Jean Nelson










Acknowledgements



Praise goes to God for touching my life and giving me His blessed salvation at age 24. He is the one that gave me the talents and abilities to minister to children for the past 50 years.

I thank God for a mother that showed me what Jesus was like by the life she led. Without her prayers and patience I probably would not have turned to God.

Thanks to Helen Potocki for taking the time to edit my book. She was such a blessing to me.

Steve and Helen Pater, of Agape Ministries Press, encouraged me to write the book for which I am grateful.

Also thanks must go to the Christian workers that participated in the many Teacher Training Work Shops that I attended over the years. I gleaned many of the ideas and methods to being a good teacher from those seminars.





Introduction


 

Being a Christian Education Director at two large churches, and traveling as a Children’s Evangelist for many years, I was hearing complaints from teachers about having trouble keeping discipline in their classrooms. That is the main reason for writing this book. I conducted children’s crusades and taught at children’s camps all across Canada. Mainly there were between 50 – 300 children in the meetings at one time.


There is not a lot of training in this area for Christian workers. When I was asked to teach a large class , they gave me a book and threw me into a room with 19 junior boys. If you can survive that, then you are on your way to being a good children’s worker. It’s a good thing that we have God to help us!!


This book is especially designed for Christian teachers that have large groups of children to teach, between the ages of 5 - 12 years old. A large percentage of churches today do not have small Sunday school classes. They usually have just Children’s church with most of the children in one large room. What makes it hard for the workers is that they have to keep the children until church is over, and if you have a long-winded pastor, things can get pretty hectic. I have been in all these situations, and hopefully the things that I learned along the way will help you. Even if your children are younger or older, and if you have a small group of children, you can still glean help from this book as well.


Remembering back to my childhood, the only teacher that got my attention in school was a teacher that brought a lot of objects to class. She traveled to Hawaii for vacation and brought some items to show us. She made the class so exciting. They were simple objects but to a young child, a star fish, a conch shell, and other items from the sea were very interesting. She also had lots of pictures and told us about her trip. She certainly made learning a joy. You might say that you don't have items from abroad. That's OK! There are items everywhere that can be used to teach Bible truths to children, even around your neighborhood, and in your home







Visual Ideas for the Lesson


If you have Sunday school material with visuals, then use them to teach the lesson. But if you don’t have anything, or you want to add more interest to your lesson, then here is a list of teaching visuals that you can use. These are very effective, and most of them are cost effective.

Skits

There are few ways to use skits. First you can pick a few children to act out the Bible story. Tell each child the character they will be playing. You do the narration, as you tell the children what to do to act out the story. The second way is to write the Bible story script ahead of time and give the children their part of the script the week before you are going to present it. Then you instruct them as they act it out. Third is that you will act out the Bible story yourself. To make the drama a little more fun, make Bible character masks as shown above. Use card stock for the head, then draw and color the faces. Cut them out and also cut out the eyes. Then you can attach a stick to the head which the children hold as they act out the story. I find paint stir sticks work great for this.

Drawings

Story from the Bible- Luke 19:1-10

Drawings can be as elaborate as you like, or just simple stick figures as shown above. If you have no talent for drawing, you can at least do simple stick figures. When you are going to present the lesson, you simply draw the bible story as you tell it to the children. If you have a large group of children, you can draw each part of the story on a few large sheets. For a small class, you can draw each part of the story on one large sheet of paper, with dividing lines between each picture, like a comic book, as shown above. Drawing just one picture of the story may not keep the children’s attention through the whole story. That is why it is good to have several picture for the Bible story. If you know someone that is good at drawing, you can have them draw the pictures for you, while you are telling the story, They could also draw the pictures ahead of time, and you just show the pictures as you tell the story. Another way is to get the person to just draw the outline in light pencil, and then you do the actual drawing in front of the kids, by following the pencil lines with a magic marker. You do not have to color the pictures, as it takes too long, and you will lose the attention of the children..

Pictures

You will need quite a few pictures to tell the story and keep the children’s attention. The pictures will also have to be quite large for all the children to see.

Object Lessons

Find objects that you can use to teach a bible lesson. For example: David and Goliath. You can find five stones, and a sling shot, and a large sword that can be made from card board. Tell the story as you show the objects. (See chapter on Fun Objects.)

Puppets

Use any kind of puppet that you like, or make your own. (Puppet ideas and directions for making your own puppets are in the chapter on puppets) If you have a puppet stage and someone to work the puppet from behind the stage, while you are out in front of the kids, you can tell the puppet the bible story while the puppet pretends not to know it. If you don’t have anyone to help you, then use a small hand puppet to tell you the bible story in your ear. You then tell the children what the puppet is saying.

Bible Video

You will need a quality Bible cartoon video, and a DVD player, TV or DPL projector to show the video. It needs to be large enough for every child to see the video. Don’t use videos every week, as even videos can be monotonous after a while.


Flannel graph

Flannel graph is not as popular as it once was, but it can still be an affective way to teach children Bible stories. Flannel graph can be purchased at bettylukens.com. It is large, quality flannel graph of the whole bible. It is costly, but worth every penny. If you have a large Sunday school, all the Sunday school classes can take turns using it. You will need an easel and a felt board. A felt board is easy to make. All you do is take a light board, or even card board will work, then cover it with plain felt material, or flannel material, and put it on an easel. Get all the pieces of flannel graph that you need for your Bible story, and lay them out on a table beside the flannel board. Then as you tell the story, you place the characters on the board.

Special Guest

Invite a special guest to come to the class to tell the children the story. A clown, grandpa or grandma, Superman, Bible character. Ask people from the church to come into the class and dress up as one of the characters and tell the story.

Fuzzy Folk

Cut out oval circles from any type of light weight fuzzy material, or they can be made from felt material. Cut large ovals for adults and some small ovals for children. The number of ovals cut will depend on the story you are telling. Put eyes on each one. Cut out of felt material items to add to the fuzzy folk. Cut out two feet for each character. For the adult male you can make a man’s hat. For the adult female, make a women’s hat. For the young girl, make a bow for her hair. The young boy can have a baseball cap. You can also choose different colors of felt material for the bodies, for example: black for adult male, red for adult female, light blue for boy, and pink for girl. You can use these in teaching stories when you do not have any visuals, as sometimes you don’t have pictures for your story. I have found good stories in books, but did not have any visuals for the story, so I used the fuzzy folk. You will use the fuzzy folk in the same way as flannel graph, as felt will stick to a flannel board. If you use any other material, you will have to put two way tape on the back of each oval body.

Power Point

This is a great teaching tool for large groups of children, if you have access to a DPL projector and a computer with power point in it. Power Point is an easy program to learn, and there is so much that you can do with it. It can be used by just putting pictures in it and tell the story while you show each picture. It is also great for using with memory verses, as you can set it up to have one word at a time of the a verse appear when you want it to. It is also great for putting the words of songs up on the screen, with added pictures to make it interesting.





Puppets

(Make them and use them)


I will never know why teachers shy away from using puppets, as puppets are one of the greatest teaching tools that you can use with kids.

Watch the children light up when a puppet comes into the room. The children will listen to puppets and remember what they say, much faster than anything you say.

They can be used for discipline, learning Bible verses, stories, songs, attendance, attracting children to Sunday school, etc.

If you announce that puppets will be at Sunday school next week, the children will try harder to be there. They will also tell their friends about the puppets. This will bring new children to Sunday school.


Ventriloquist Puppets


Sometimes it is hard to get people to commit to helping with puppets, or there are just no other workers in your church that can help you. When I traveled conducting children’s programs, it was not always possible to get helpers for puppets. I started using ventriloquist puppets, because I could do it alone. I felt like an idiot at first I used a small cloth puppet, but when I saw how the children responded, I was encouraged to keep working on it, until it became comfortable not only in front of children, but also with adults. If you are nervous about trying puppets, it is better to start with the younger children. Once you are comfortable with the little ones, and then try it on older children


My first puppet was purchased at “One Way Street Puppet Company”. It was about $50. Because I was traveling in ministry, I thought it would be better to purchase a puppet rather than to make one. Also I needed a large puppet, so all the children could see it, because I taught large groups of children at one time. When the puppet arrived in the mail, I thought that it looked like a Mexican, so I called him Pedro from Mexico. I then listen to people speaking Spanish until I could get a little bit of a Spanish accent. It worked great in Canada, but when I went to Texas, and taught at a Vacation Bible School with quite a few Mexican children in attendance, it became a problem. I had a puppet named Pedro that could not speak Spanish. I told them that he lived in Canada for a long time, and forgot how to speak Spanish. Thankfully most of the children spoke English.


You do not have to be a professional. Start trying to talk without moving your lips. There are only a few letters that are hard to say without moving your lips, but if you are a Mexican, Italian, or some other foreign puppet, you are not expected to say every word perfectly. Little children will not be looking at your lips to see if they are moving. The very first time I tried it was with a kindergarten class. After the program a little child came up to me and told me that he knew how I made the puppet talk. At that moment, I thought if a child from kindergarten figured it out, that I was not very good. Then he told me that I had someone behind the piano doing the taking for the puppet. Needless to say, that make my day, and I have been doing ventriloquism ever since. Even with older children and adults, I found that they may look at your lips at the beginning, and even if they see your lips moving, they will start listening to the dialogue and enjoy the program.


An easier way to do vent puppets when you are alone is to have the puppet whisper in your ear, and then you tell the children what he is saying. As long as you do it with a lot of expression, the children will like it. The more expressions you use the better it will be. This is great way to do ventriloquism if you are just starting out, and do not feel comfortable trying not to move your lips.


Don’t go out and buy an expensive puppet when you are just beginning to use puppets. Make a little sock puppet, and try it first. (A diagram on how to make a sock puppet is included at the back of the book.) Decide on a name for your puppet, and a few details that the children may ask you. For example they may want to know where the puppet is from, and how old he is. You can make it up as you go, but remember what you said, as you may be asked the question again, and you want to be consistent.


How to Use Your Puppet


A great way to use a puppet is to teach the children a Bible verse. Children really need to know the scriptures, and repetition is a great way to get verses into a child’s memory bank. Ask your puppet if he will help the children with the memory verse. Write the memory verse on a large sheet of paper, or a white board, so all the children can see it. Ask the children to repeat the verse with you a few times. Then ask the puppet if he knows the verse. The puppet will say yes, and tries to say the verse, but gets it all mixed up. Tell the children that we need to help the puppet by saying the verse a few more times. Then as the puppet tries again he says it better, but still makes mistakes. Ask the kids again to help. About the third or fourth time the puppet says it correctly. Get excited and tell the puppet he did a great job. The puppet thanks the kids, and leaves. This is a great way to get children to learn verses. This method can be used with a vent puppet, or by someone behind the puppet stage using the puppet while talking to you.


Another way to use a puppet is to teach a Bible story. This works well with a sock puppet whispering in your ear, or a vent puppet, or a puppet behind a stage.

A puppet can get the kids’ attention while singing songs. Have the puppet, or puppets, sing along with the kids, or have the puppets sing a special song for the kids.




Using Puppets behind the Puppet Stage


Variety of Ways to Use a Puppet Stage


  1. When you are in front of the kids, a puppet behind the stage talks to you
  2. Several puppeteers moving the mouth of their puppets in sync with an audio song tape behind the puppet stage the puppeteers do not talk; they only move the puppet’s mouths to the song.

4. Puppeteers follow a skit on a CD tape, and just mouth it and act out the skit.

5. Also the puppeteers can do the talking and act out the skit, or sing the song.


If you want a really good puppet production, you will need a few dedicated workers. It does take work to get a really nice puppet presentation. The easiest way to do puppets behind the stage is to have all the vocals on tape. This frees the puppeteers to concentrate on the movements of the puppets. The other reason is because it is hard to talk loud enough or speaking into a mike while manipulating a puppet. The only exception would be if a puppet interacting with you in front of the kids, while the puppeteer is behind the puppet stage. It is helpful to have a mike behind the stage, as it is hard for the children to hear the puppet, if you have a large group of children.


There are many great children’s CDs with children’s songs on them that work well for puppets. You can also make your own puppet skits, or songs by taping them ahead of time, and then playing the CD while the children move the puppet’s mouths. You can purchase Bible stories on CDs as well as good quality puppets from puppet companies. Again you can make your own.


When you get your team of puppeteers together, train them to manipulate the puppets. The first thing they need to know is that they must look at their puppet mouth all the time while the puppet sings or is speaking, to make sure the mouth is working properly. They need to move the mouth with every syllable, not the whole word that the puppet speaks. Also they should not open the mouth all the way, only about half way, as we don’t open our mouth all the way when we speak. Another reason for only opening the mouth half way is so that they can keep up with the CD’s vocal. Another important note is to keep the puppet high enough for the audience to see the puppet. The puppet should be belly button high to the top rail of the stage where the puppets come up. The problem is to keep it there through the whole program, which brings up another point. Try not to have one puppeteer up too long as their arms will get sore and the puppet will slide downward without them even realizing it. Find songs on CDs that have solo singers as well as background singers, so that no puppet is up for a long period of time. When the puppets are coming up to sing, they should bounce up and stop in their place, and turn around and bounce down when they exit to make it look like the puppet is walking downward and upward. It looks a little more realistic, rather than having them pop up and down.


A good idea is to set up a video camera in front of the puppet stage and tape the puppet program while you are practicing, and show it to the puppeteer afterwards. This will help them to see where they need to improve.


PUPPET RESOURCES

http://www.axtell.com

http://www.puppetville.com/

https://www.thepuppetstore.com






Games That Teach




Make Questions into a Game - When possible make everything a game. You can use the games below to review past lessons, or perceive how much of the bible the children have learned. This is especially helpful if it is a new class and you are not sure how much bible knowledge the children have. You can then gear your lessons to the bible that the children need to learn. The games will also help the children to listen to your lesson more attentively if you tell them that at the end of class today, or next week, we will play a game with questions about the lesson.



- When playing the games, split the class into Team A and Team B, or divide the girls and boys into two teams. Get someone in the class to keep score, or you can do it yourself. The children like it if you make the points with hundreds instead of just single digits. For example, when a child from team one, answers the question correctly, he receive 100 points, instead of just 1 point. You can ask as many questions as you like as long as both teams get the same amount of chances to answer questions. You can make your own games by thinking of games that children like to play, and adapt them to your lesson. In smaller classes, you may not have enough children to play in teams. In that case just give the single child that gets the highest points a small prize. For the team games you will not need prizes, as children love the competition.


(To avoid the problem of children disagreeing with you over answers to the questions, tell the first child that does it, that they will lose points for their team if they argue with the leader. Say it in a fun way, and the child will except it, especially when you say that you will let it go the first time, but anyone else that argues with the leader will get points taken off for their team.)



Question and Answer Games



Happy Face Game



Front of Happy Face


Back of Happy Face

Cut out circles from light card stock paper to whatever size you like, as long as they will fit on your flannel board or a plain board. Draw a happy face on the front of the circle and a large number on the back, but be sure that number will not show through to the front of the circle. You will need to put some tape on the back to stick to the board. . The tape is placed on the back of the circle so that it sticks to whenever board you are using. The circle facing the children will have happy faces, but on the back will be the numbers.

Ask a question of the first team, and when a child answers correctly, have them come up to the front and pick a happy face. The number on the back of the happy face are the points that child gets for his team. Each happy face has a different number on the back, and you will mix them up on the board. I find that if you make them even numbers it is easier to add them up, and I would start with the number 100 to 1,000. You can place any number of circles on the board, but 6 to 8 would be sufficient. You can split your class in two groups, and ask the questions taking turns picking a child from each group. If a team member misses an answer and does not get it correct, you would then pass the question to the second team. Of course, it is your game you can make the rules. You can use this game with any Bible questions, or questions from a Bible story that you want to review.



Golf



This is a fun game. The boys especially like this one. You will need a golf club of any sort, a golf ball, and a device that is used for practicing putting. When you hit the ball it goes into this device and bounces the ball back to you. You will also need to place a line of tape on the floor where the children must stand while trying to hit the ball. You asked the children a question, again, you can use teams if you like. When the child answers that question for his/her team correctly he/she will stand behind the line and use the golf club to try to get the ball into the device so that it bounces back. If the child accomplishes that, they will get points for their team. Try to make it fairly easy for the child to get the ball in the device. It will depend on the age of the children as to where you will place the line with masking tape. These games are the same as the others, as you go back and forth asking questions as the children chalk up points for their side. You will not need prizes for this game. The children will get a great thrill out of their team winning.


Old or New Testament Game



Front Back


The items you will need for this game is two pieces of light cardboard about 3 inches by 6 inches, and this will depend on the size of your class. You can make these cards larger or smaller, as long as all the children can see them. On each card you will write in large letters on one side the word “OLD”' on the other side you will write the word "NEW”. You do not need teams for this game, as when the children answer the question correctly they choose someone else to take their place. This game is designed to help the children learn what stories are in the old testament and which stories are in the new. You choose the first two children to come to the front of the class. You give both children one of the cards with "OLD/NEW' on it. Make the children stand back to back holding their card in front of them. The card must be placed in front of their stomach, in this way the other child will not be able to see their card. You then start asking questions. For example you would say to one of the children,” is the story of David and Goliath in the new testament or the old testament”? The two children will then have to decide whether they should be holding up the “old” or “new side of the card” The answer should be facing the audience. If they have a tie and both get the same answer, they get to go again, If one puts up “old” and the other child puts up “new”, then the child that put up “old” is correct and he gets to stay for another turn, while the child with the wrong answer will pick someone else to take his place. If two children keep getting the correct answer, you will need to limit how many times they can keep playing the game. Usually three times is a good number for the children to play the game if the get the right answer.



Yes and No Game



Front Back


This game can be played much like the previous game. Only on the cards you will print yes on one side, and no on the other side of the card. Play it the same way as the old and new testament game. This time however, you will ask questions that have a yes or no answer.



Who Am I Game



Tell the children something about a character from the Bible, and then say, who am I. The kids must guess who the person is. Example: Question: I am a man in the bible who was swallowed by a whale. Who am I? Answer: Jonah


Crossword Puzzle




You can purchase a book of the Bible crossword puzzles and copy one of them on a sheet of paper, You can purchase the puzzle books at a bible book store, on the Internet, or you can make one up yourself. Copy the puzzle onto a large sheet of paper, or an overhead projector transparency, as you want all the children to see it. Do the same thing as with the other games and play it with teams, or just ask the questions to all the children. You ask the children the question, just like any crossword puzzle, and they have to have the right amount of letters to guess the answer. You then will write the answer on the blank puzzle.

Make can make free crossword puzzles on line and print them off at: https://worksheets.theteacherscorner.net/make-your-own/crossword/



Bible Box Quiz


Put bible questions from past lessons that you have taught in a box, and then at any time during the first part of your program, get a child to come up and put their hand in the box without looking, and picks a question. If the child knows the answer to the question he gets a prize. (Decorate the box)


Secret Number



The children love this game, and it will help greatly with discipline. At the beginning of your class teach the children a Bible verse by getting the children to repeat it over and over. Also tell them that you are going to play a game after they learn the verse. You will then give them a secret number after you have reviewed the verse. Tell them that you will only tell it to them once so they will have to listen closely, if they want to play the game. When you feel that they know the verse fairly well, tell them the secret number. Choose any number you want for the secret number. Explain to them that when they hear you say the secret number, at any time during your class, they can raise their hand, and you will choose one of the children with their hand up to repeat the verse, and if they say it correctly you give them a small prize. Example: bubble gum or candy. You will be surprised at how well the children will learn the verse and behave themselves to get a candy.



Hamburger Game


You will make all the pieces of the hamburger out of felt material to use with a flannel board. If you don’t have a flannel board, then tape the pieces unto any type of board, or you can just cut the pieces out of heavy card stock paper, and glue them to a board. The bun part of the hamburger will be a light brown color. The meat of your hamburger will be made from dark brown material. Then cut out red tomato, green relish and yellow mustard pieces of felt. Make two hamburgers with all their pieces. The ways this game is played is that you will have two teams, one child from each team will come up to the board to play the game Given the two team members all the pieces of each hamburger. You will ask a question from the first team and if they get it correct, that child at the front will place the bottom of the hamburger bun on the board. Then you will ask the second team a question, and if they get it correct, their team member at the front will place the bottom part of their hamburger bun on the board. You will go back and for until some team wins. (You can make this game up with any food that the children like)



Banana Split Game


This game is played the same way as the hamburger game, only this time you will make the different pieces of the banana split including the dish.



Pizza Game


This game is played exactly the same way as the prior two games. You will of course, make pizza pieces with this game.



Dart Game



The items needed for this game are a dart board of some sort with Velcro on the numbers, and a ball with Velcro on it, for the dart The game is played the same as darts. A child from each team takes turns trying to get a bulls eye, or the highest point he can get for his team. Make a line in the floor with masking tape, so the children know where to stand.



Basketball Game

If the children like basketball, buy a small toy hoop and ball, or make your own. Some of the cheap little basketball games will just fit over the back of a chair. (In Canada and the United States, you can find them at the dollar stores). The way I would use this game is to ask a child a Bible question, and if he answers correctly, give him the ball to throw into the hoop from a distance that you mark on the floor. The distance will depend on the age of the children. Every basket the children make, is 100 points for themselves, or their team. The person, or team with the most points wins the game.



Baseball Game



This is another easy game to adapt to Bible questions. Throw a soft ball out to the children, in team one, and the one that catches it gets to answers the question that you ask, and if they know the answer to the question, they get a home run for their team, which is worth 100 points. If the child does not answer it correctly, he gets strike one and no points for his team. Three strikes for a team automatically gives the game to the other side. You go back and forth until one team strikes out. (You can make up your own rules for this game if you like.)



The Balloon Dart Game



Purchase the regular size, or small water balloons for this game. You will need very small pieces of paper that will fit into the balloon before you blow it up. Put a different number on each piece of paper. Roll up the small pieces of paper and push them into the balloons. There should be one paper in each balloon. Then blow up the balloons, and tie the end. Tape the tied end of the balloons to a board. Ask the children a question. The one that gets a correct answer comes to the board and is chooses one of the balloons and punches it with a pin that you give him. to cause it to break. (Younger children should not be given pins. You will break the balloon for the younger children. Let the child pick the balloon, and you punch the balloon for the child,) The child can find the piece of paper on the floor from the balloon, and that is the points for that child You go back and forth the same as the other games.




Toss Ball/FrizbeeToss/Ring Toss Game



Take your pick. Find a nerf ball, or any soft type ball will do. Have the girls against the boys. Toss the ball to the girls first then the girl that catches the ball has to answer a review question from last weeks lesson, or any Bible question that you choose. If she gets it right, the girls get 100points. Then it is the boys turn, until you choose to end the game. The team with the most points wins. (If one team misses the answer, then give it to the other team to answer, and so on.



Tic Tac Toe



This game is played the same way as the other games, except when a child gets the answer right, he will go to the tic tac toe board and pick a spot to place his (X) or (O). You can write the tic tac toe on a large sheet of paper, or a white board, and the children write their X or O on the board.



Secret Word



Whatever the theme of your lesson is, use one word to use as the secret word. For example if you are teaching on God’s love, use the word (love) as your secret word. Tell the children that you have a secret word, and at the end of your lesson you will give them a chance to tell you the secret word for a small prize. Throughout the lesson use the word love. Be sure to use it about five times. Then at the end of the lesson ask the children if they know what the secret word is. The first child that knows the secret word, gets a prize. This is a great way to get the children to listen carefully to your lesson. Making everything a game makes the lesson exciting.





Bible Games



Mixed Bible Books



The aim of this game is to learn the books of the Bible All you need for this game is 66 plain pieces of paper, or card stock, and a marker. On each sheet of paper you will mix up a Bible book on it. You will do this with all the books of the Bible. On the the back of each sheet you will place either masking tape with the book of the bible written on it, or you can lightly write the book of the bible in pencil, so that it will not show through to the front of the paper. All you have to do is look on the back to know what book of the Bible is on the front the paper. You can use all of the books of the bible, or use just the new testament or the old testament. Hold one sheet up and ask them to tell you which book of the Bible it is. Then all you do is continue holding up different scrambled books of the Bible. You can use this game with teams, or just use it as a review of the books of the Bible.


Sword Drill


This game has been used for years, but is still very effective in helping the children to find verses in their Bibles. Every child will need a Bible for this game. (Every child will need the same version of the Bible). Go to a concordance and pick a word, and use all the verses that will have the word you pick in it. This way you can use the same technique as the secret word game. Tell them to tell you the secret word at the end of the sword drill. The way the sword drill works is that the children hold their Bibles up in the air in one hand. You tell them not to bring their hands down until you say (go). Tell them what the Bible verse is, and let them repeat it. Then say (go) and the children will search their Bible to find the verse. The first one that stands up and says the verse is the winner. This can be used in teams, or just a way to practice finding verses in the Bible. You don’t need a prize for this game.





Memory Verse Games


Memory Verse Cards


Front Back


This is a great game to review past lesson Bible verses. Put large cards on a board. On the front of each card is number, and on the back is one word of a memory verse. Put tape on the back of each card and stick them to the board. This game can be done with teams or individual children. Pick a child to start the game. That child will come to the front and pick one of the cards. The child then turns the card over to see what is written on the back of the card. He gets to guess what the memory verse is by that word. They probably won’t get it from one word, but that is what makes the game fun. The second child you pick will choose a different card, and then guesses what the memory verse is. Take the cards from the children and place it where no one can see it, so that they will have to remember all the words that have been chosen. You keep going until someone guesses the memory verse. For younger children you can leave the words up on the board when a child chooses a number. Just stick the word in place until someone guesses the verse.



Number Memory Verse



Make two sets of numbers on small pieces of paper. Give each child as they enter the class one of the pieces of paper, and put the other one in a small box or dish of some kind. During the first part of your program, after you have practiced the memory verse a few times, pick one of the numbers out of the box, or gift bag. The child that has the similar number says the memory verse, and gets a small candy if he answers correctly. (Be sure the child says most of the verse correctly before giving him/her a prize.)



Mixed Up Bible Verse

(Write one word of each of the words of a Bible verse Scramble the words of the verse, and stick them to the board for the children to unscramble)



The unscrambled answer is: Ephesians 2:4 But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.

This game can be played on the chalk board or a white board. All you do is write the memory verse in large letters with the words to the verse mixed up.. You can have the children come up to the front and erase the mixed up memory verse and write the verse in the correct order. You can also write the memory verse on cardboard cards as illustrated above with a word on each card, and then mix them up on the board. Of course, you will need something sticky on the back of the cards to stick on the board. You can then get the children to unscramble the verse and put it in the right order. You could have someone watching the clock to see how long it takes each child to unscramble the verse. A stop watch would be even better. The child that unscrambles the verse in the least amount of time wins the game. I find it is always good to use a Bible verse that is part of the theme of your lesson.



Kids Mixed Up Verse



Choose enough children for each word of the verse to come to the front of the class. Each child has a card with a word from the memory verse that is written on a card. Have them stand at the front and make sure the verse is all mixed up with the cards facing the rest of the children. There is several ways to do this game. The children themselves can walk around and straighten the verse out. This is the best way to do this game if you don’t have a lot of children. You can have the verse in order for the children to see how it goes, and then mix it up if that works better for your group. The second way is to have a child that comes up and tells the children where to stand until the verse is correct. You can then time the children to see who puts it together first. The third way is to have teams and one child from each team gets a chance to put the verse in order, and the team that puts the verse in order in the shortest amount of time wins.


Under Chair Verse


Write one word on each piece of paper and tape each word on the bottom of the chairs where the children will be sitting. You will need to do this before the children arrive. At the proper time tell them to find the papers and bring them to the front and put the verse in the proper order on the board by using scotch tape to tape the verse to the board, or just let the children line up in order to spell out the verse.



Bible Bucks


This game can be used for any or all of the things that you want the children to do. Learning verses, Attendance, Punctual, and learning bible stories. This will cost you money, but it is very effective to get children learning verses, and Bible stories. You are going to make a store with all kinds of prizes the children would like to have, Make church dollars that the children can earn, by learning verse, etc. Each week the children can earn Bible bucks by learning verses, etc. Then at the end of about six weeks they get to spend their dollars. (Try to keep track of the dollars that you give to the children, as they may try to copy the dollars.)




Dog and Puppy

(This game is great for younger children)





You will draw and color a large dog of the out of light cardboard, or you can use a large picture of the dog.. You then need small puppies. They can be made from cardboard, or pictures. This can be used in a couple of different ways. It can be used for disciplining the younger children. The way it work that the puppies will not be close to the mother but as the children come into class and you move their puppy closer to their mother You do not have to say anything, but if a child starts to misbehave, you will move the puppy with their name on it away from their mother. When the child tells you that you moved their puppy away from the mother, all you have to say is I know. The children will soon learn that when they do not behave their puppy will move away from the mother. The children will want their puppy to stay close to the mother.


You can use this game in the same way as some of the other games except the puppies are at one side of the room and the mother at the other. The goal is for each puppy to make it to their mother, by attending class each week.



Cat and Kittens

This game is played the same as the Dog and Puppy game, but it will be with a mother cat and her kittens.







Attendance Games


These games encourage good attendance. You may also use these game to encourage the children, to learn Bible verses, bringing their Bible, be on time, or whatever you want to motivate the children to do.


Rocket Ship




You will make simple rocket ships out of light cardboard for each child in your class. On the front of the rocket ships you will write the child's name. You will also make a moon. On a blank wall in your classroom, you will place each child’s rocket ship at the bottom of the wall. The goal is for their rocket ships to reach the moon, which is placed at the top of the wall as shown in diagram above. (If you have a large group of children, split the children into teams, then each rocket ship can have the name of a team on it, and the goal is for one of the team rocket ships to reach the moon first). Each week the child, or team attends the class, you will move that child, or team rocket ship, up the wall slightly until it reaches the moon in about six weeks, or whatever time frame you choose . Do the same with each of the children's rocket ship. Each week they go a little farther up the wall to reach the top. Do not make the contest too long. There should be some kind of prize at the end of six weeks to every child that gets to the Moon in the time frame you have set. Perhaps, a certificate of achievement can be given. Another prize could be a class outing with all the children that get to the Moon.




Car Race



The car race game is similar to the rocket ship game. This time you will draw cars with the children's name on each card. And instead of going up the wall they will race across the wall. You can make these cars as large or small as you like. If you do not have a wall space that you can use, then place the cars on a large sheet of paper.



Airplane Race



This game is done the same as the previous two games, although this one takes a little more work. You will need a string to pin from one end of the class to the other for each child’s airplane You can purchase cheap light airplanes from the store, or make your own out of cardboard. The airplane will be hung from each string. You can use a paper clip taped to the airplane so it will slide across the string. And each week the child's airplane will slide along the string until it reaches the end.






Conducting the Class


Everything that you do before the children arrive will make your class run smoothly. Try to

get to class at least a half an hour before the first child arrives. Be sure everything is organized and ready to go, before the children arrive. Handwork or craft should be on the table ready for the children as they enter the room. Just before you start your lesson remind the children to go to the bathroom before the lesson starts. Then go over the rules with the children.


Example of rules that you can post in the classroom



Example of Class Schedule


Activity

Craft or handwork as the children enter the class. 10 – 15 minutes long


Program

( 30 – 45 minutes depending on the allotted time you are given)





How to Prepare and Conduct the Class


The first thing to do is to have everything set up and ready for the lesson before the children arrive. You want your attention to be given to the children, and not getting items ready for the lesson. The children have not seen you for a week, and they want to tell you about their experiences the past week. If you are spending your time getting items ready for teaching, you will not be listening to what they have to say: in fact, they will be interrupting you while you're trying to get ready for the class. This will waste valuable time that can be spent getting to know the children’s needs. Also, you will need to know what makes them tick if you are going to minister to them effectively. They may be going through some difficulties that you are not aware of. The children will have an opportunity to open up to you, especially the first ones that come in the classroom.


I always liked to have something on the table for the children to do when they first come in. It could be puzzles or a picture to color, that corresponds to the lesson. That way, the children will have something to keep them occupied, and are not just sitting doing nothing. You must always have activities of some kind to keep the children busy, or they will start acting up or doing things that you don't want them to do. You want your class to have the feeling of calmness. Having nice children’s Christian music playing in the background would add to the calm feeling of the class. This way you set the tone for the class, and not the children. I never allow the children to run around and make a lot of noise, unless it is a game that I have control of. It is hard to get the children to settle down when they are running around the classroom. That is why it is important to keep them busy at all times.


When most of the children have arrived, you can start your program. Singing is a good way to start. Especially fast fun action songs. This way the children will have opportunity to move around and have fun. Don’t let the children get out of control during the action songs. If they start to act up during a particular action song, I stop the song, and tell them that we can’t continue with the song unless they settle down. After a few fast songs, it would be good to have either a puppet, memory verse game, or a learning game. While in the first part of the program you can collect the offering at any time, as long as it is not during the story time. You could even have the children put their offering in as they come into class. In this way you will have more time for your lesson or other things. It is nice to acknowledge children that have had a birthday during the week, and sing happy birthday to them. Children love it when you remember their birthday. Send birthday cards, as children love to receive cards in the mail. You can also send a welcome card to first-time children to your class. If you have a large group of children, get a helper to look after sending cards from the class.


Keep everything moving quickly. Don't waste time looking for items or trying to figure out what comes next. Try not to have a laps of time when you move from on part of the lesson to another. Even a few seconds can give opportunity for the children to start talking to one another. I find it helpful to have a schedule of everything that is going to happen in your class. Also if someone is helping me with the children, they need to know the schedule as well. That way they know exactly what comes next and you will not be wasting time telling them. Now that you have the children's attention don't lose it. It is hard to get and it is hard to keep. So once you have their attention, don't lose it. Now you can start the slow songs.

Use nice slow worship songs. Using sign language is a great way to sing slow songs. There is more on singing slow songs in the chapter on Songs. If the children are not behaving, you will not be able to sing very many slow songs. I always tell them that this is the time to be quiet and behaved. I usually have a quiet-seat prize that I remind the children about at this time.


After your slow songs, you can add an object lesson or start your lesson. Whatever lesson is make sure that you have visuals for it. I never teach a lesson without visuals. It is always good to have an application story that goes along the same theme as the Bible lesson. At the end of your lesson, it is a good time to have an object lesson that emphasizes the theme of the lesson. End the class with prayer, followed by giiving out the quiet seat prizes.


Many of you have a lesson book that you have been given to teach the children. Sometimes there is a lot of material to go through, and you don't have a lot of time to prepare. That is why you should be working on your lessons a week ahead. I find that if I am thinking about the lessons in advance, it gives me a chance to find interesting items to add to the lesson to make it more enjoyable to the children. Also there may be great ideas in the lesson book that you received, but you need time to prepare them ahead of time. If you leave your lesson until the day before you are teaching, you will not have time to use some of the great ideas in the lesson book.


When I started teaching I was in a small church and there were not many people to draw from, so when I was asked to teach a class, I said yes. I had no idea that I would be good at teaching children. I did my best and found that I really enjoyed ministering to the children.

When I left that church and went to a larger church, they asked me to teach there also. They gave me a teacher’s manual, and a young girl to help me. There were no pictures, in fact, no visuals at all to teach with. The class included 13 junior boy. It was good that I had taught at the smaller church to get some experience for this class. I looked around for things that I had at home that I could use for visuals for the lesson. I thought that I had a pretty good lesson ready, but I was in for a surprise. The boys would not settle down enough for me to teach the lesson. I went home completely defeated.

I prayed all week for the class. I did not want to give up so easily, so I went back the next Sunday and the same thing happened. I spent most of the class time trying to get control of the class. Again I went home defeated. I prayed again and told God that unless He helped me get control of the class that I would not teach these boys anymore.

As I drove to church the next Sunday morning, I was praying all the way there telling God that this was it, unless He came through for me I was finished with the class. Again as I came into the class the boys were acting up, but this time, things were different. I’m sure God gave me the idea to ask the boy, who was the leader, to come out of the class for a moment so I could talk with him. The poor young girl that was helping me looked panicky. I told her I would not be long.

When I got the boy outside the classroom, I asked him if he would help me. I told him that I was having a hard time getting the boys to settle down so that I could teach the class. I asked him if he would not go along with the other boys when they were acting up, when we went back in the class. He said that he would help me. Sure enough when we got back to class, he did not join the other boys when they started misbehaving, and he even told them to settle down. In a few minutes the class was quiet and I was able to teach the lesson. That class ended up being a wonderful experience for me, and we had great times together. Remember that you are not alone. There is a God that is waiting and willing to help you.








The Classroom


The Wow Factor - Think of a child coming into your class for the first time. Look around and say to yourself, “If I were a child would I like to sit in this classroom every Sunday.” Are the walls dull, and bare? Make it say WOW!!! Make your classroom as inviting as you can for the children. When a child comes to class and it is dreary and drab, it sets the wrong tone for the class. Paint the room in bright colors if you are allowed to do that. It will be worth the effort.

Multiple Uses - Sometimes you have no control over the room décor because the room is used by others during the week. If that is the case, then put large posters on easels, balloons, anything to brighten the room. Also you can place some colorful sheets or table coverings over the tables to cover up equipment that is in the room from the use of others using the room. Also chairs should be suitable for the size of your children, when possible. I suggest that you never try to teach children while they are standing for a long period of time, or sitting on the floor, as it is hard for children to sit on the floor for long stretches of time, and pay attention to the lesson. Also the temperature of the room will make a difference. If they are uncomfortably hot or cold, it will be hard to keep their attention.

Decorating the Room - Get yourself some poster board and paint and start making exciting pictures to put up in the classroom, or find large pictures and bible verses. You can enlarge small pictures easily, by copying them onto a transparency and using an overhead projector to shine on the wall, with a large piece of paper taped to the wall. Any kind of projector will do to enlarge a picture. Change the pictures every month, so the children don’t get bored with the same pictures every week. Another idea is to paint bold strips across the wall, or purchase duck tape in a variety of colors, and put strips vertically or horizontally on the wall. Show the kids that you care about them and that you put time and energy into the class.

Walls That Teach - Why not use your walls for teaching Bible truths. Put a picture of a tree with the fruits of the spirit on the fruit on the wall. Any Bible truth that you want to teach the children can be painted directly on the wall, or on a large sheet of paper. Other ideas for the wall is the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, Bible Verses, or a Psalms. Each week you can lead the children in memorizing the items that are on the wall.

Teaching Outside - I have found it difficult to teach children outside as there are too many things to distract them. If you have to teach them outside then make sure your program is exciting with lots of visuals. Sometimes it depends on the children. If the children usually have their lessons outside, then they may not be as distracted as children who are not normally outside. Another way to teach outside is to do a lot of lively activities, that way the children are moving around, and not just sitting still.

Cartoon Characters - If you have 30 or more children with just a few inexperienced workers, then I suggest that you do what we did at our church when we had a lot of new children coming to Sunday school, because of the bus ministry. We placed tables along the wall and put up pictures of large cartoon characters over each table. You can make large pictures by using a DPL projector, or an overhead projector with a transparency of the cartoon character on it. Then put a large sheet of paper on the wall, and shine the projector unto the large sheet of paper and trace out the cartoon character on the paper, and then color it. You can make the cartoons any size that you want to by using a projector.

We assigned the students to a table that had a cartoon character. The children will remember the cartoon character the next week they come to Sunday school, and know that it is their class. When the children come into the class they go to the table with the cartoon character that they are assigned to, and the worker helps them with the craft for the day. The worker will also get all the information of each child for follow up. It is a great way to use inexperienced workers that are not ready yet to teach a class. You will only need one experienced teacher to do the actual teaching when the craft is finished. The rest of the workers will sit with the children to keep order.


Ideas for Walls


Sample Lesson on Salvation



Theme: God loves and forgives us



Puzzle or Coloring Page: Word search page is included



Opening

Open in prayer and welcome new children. Then sing one fast action song


Memory Verse: Luke 19:10

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.


Use any puppet to teach the verse. The puppet tries to say the verse, but gets all mixed up and needs the children to help him. If you do not have anyone to help, and you do not feel comfortable using ventriloquism then use the hand puppet that speaks in your ear. You will tell the children what the puppet said, and of course the puppet did not get it right. Do it several times, and finally he gets it.


Another way to practice the verse is to get the children to repeat the memory verse several times with you. Tell them that they need to know the verse in order to play the Secret Number Game. To make it a little more fun, instead of all the children saying it together each time, ask all the children with the color red on their clothes to stand up and say the verse. Then change the color each time they say the verse.


Game: Secret Number Game


How to Play - Pick any number. We will use the number five. Tell the children that you have a secret number, and you will only tell them once, so they need to listen carefully. Then tell them the number is five, and any time during the program when they hear you say that number, they should stand to their feet. You will pick one of them, and if that child can say the memory verse, give the child a small candy. Tell them to put it in their pocket until the class is over. You will say the number several times during the first part of your program. The children love this game, and will have fun learning the memory verse. You can carry it into your story time if you like, but it can distract from the story. Only you know if you have the attention of the children, and if you can keep it during the lesson time, without any treats. If you feel that you need something during the story time, then you can use the secret number game, or you can use the quiet seat game. That is where you tell the children that you will be watching them during the story, and at the end you will give a treat to the best behaved children.


Fast Action Songs: Sing a few action songs of your choice to get the children moving around.


Offering and Birthdays


Songs: Sing a couple of slow songs using sign language


Bible Story: Zacchaeus Luke 19:1-10


How big the pictures are will depends on the number of children that you have. You can use just one large piece of paper, and divide it into four as pictured below, or use four separate sheets of paper. The easiest way to do this is to draw the stick figures lightly with pencil before the children arrive. Then when you are telling the story, you mark over the lines with a dark marker, or crayons. They may not even know the pencil lines are there. You can use your own words for the story. Below is an outline of the story.



Modern Day Story:


You will need a heart chocolate box. You can eat the chocolates, then take out all the dividers to where you have an empty box. The inside bottom of the box should be white, but if it isn’t cut out a white heart the same size as the heart box, and place it in the bottom. Find a picture of Jesus, or draw one on a piece of paper, and place it in the bottom over the white background Then cut a heart out of black paper, the same size as the box, and place it over the picture of Jesus. Next get several pieces of white cotton material, or you can use tissue paper. Take a black marker and mark up the white material, so they look dirty. Place the dirty fabric on top of the black paper heart. Close the box up so the children only see the outside of the heart box. As you tell the story, follow the directions below:


If you do not have a heart box, then use an ordinary box and glue a heart on the top. Follow the directions above, only you will cut out a white and black square piece of paper instead of a heart.




Song – Into My Heart (Use sign language, or simple actions that you make up.)








Salvation Prayer: Ask the children if they want to ask Jesus to come into their heart and forgive them. I find it good to invite them to come to the front, and then have them repeat the following prayer after you.


Dear Jesus I am sorry for the bad things that I have done. Please forgive me and come into my heart. I need you to help me be good. Thank you for dying on the cross, so that I can be forgiven. I love you.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen


.



NAME______________________________ AGE______________

Words to Find

ZACCHAEUS, TAX, COLLECTOR, JESUS, SYCAMORE, TREE, SINNER, SALVATION, CHEAT




Reaching Parents


Parents love to see their children perform, so use it to reach the parents. Have special days that you can invite the parents, and the children can do a program for them. Below are some special days that we used in our church. Be sure to advertise each one well. A pamphlet with all the information should be sent home with the children inviting the parents, and friends to come to the program.


Graduation Day

Each year the children go to a new class in public school, so you can do the same thing in Sunday school. Have a graduation day for the children at Sunday school, as most Sunday schools have their classes in the grade system. You can have a graduation for every child, even if they are staying in your class. Make this an exciting day for the children. Decorate the classroom if you can. Paste some of the children’s work on the wall for the parents to see. Print up a graduation certificate for each child. Roll it up with a ribbon wrapped around it. Make a paper graduation hat for each child. (Instructions for the certificate, and hat are at the back of the book.) Prepare some coffee and goodies for the parents, and juice for the kids. The children can be putting on their hats and getting ready while the parents are having their goodies, as long as you have helpers. This is a good time to get to know the parents.

Make a big deal of it when the children come up to get their certificate. Say something nice about each child as they get their certificate. After the children get their certificates, the children can put on a program for the parents. The children can sing some of the songs they sing each week. Also have them recite some bible verses they have learned. The children could also do a Bible story skit.

Mothers Day

We always did Moms and Muffins as a theme at our church, and it worked very well. Of course you will need coffee and muffins for the mothers and guests. The dads can come also. You can either have the coffee and muffins at the beginning or the end of the class. Prepare a puzzles or coloring paper for the children to do while the parents have their coffee. Try to have a helper to look after the children, as again this is a good time to get to know the parents. Your program can consist of leading the children in a few of the children’s songs that you normal do in the class, and then you can have the kids say some nice verses to their mothers. You can also do a mini Bible lesson that the children and parents will enjoy. The week before Mothers Day the children could make cards for their mothers to give to them on Mothers Day. You could conduct a regular class, for the parents to see what the children do each week.

Fathers Day

Do the same thing as on Mothers Day, but the theme will be Dads and Donuts. You will of course serve donuts instead of muffins.


Christmas Concert

This will take a lot of work, but it is well worth it. There are many books available with songs, verses, and Christmas plays. If you do not have a budget for the concert, make up your own program. You can get ideas from the Internet. The children can sing a few Christmas songs, and you can make up a little play for the children to act out the birth of Christ.


Parent’s Day

This is a chance for the children to honor their parents. The children can either make a card for their parents. In it the children can write the things they love about their parents. Some children have only one parent, or they are living with other members of their family. The best way to handle it is to tell the children to invite their parents, or any member of their family.

Kid’s Day

Make this a fun day for the children, and the parents. This would be a good day to have a puppet show. A clown could visit the class and do balloon animals. At the end of the class every child gets a cheap kit to take home.

Easter Concert

This is a wonderful day to teach the gospel. That Jesus died for our sins, and rose again. Do it in the same way that you would conduct a Christmas concert.

Valentine’s Day

The children make a valentine’s card for their parents, and their other class mates. You could make a valentine’s cake for everyone to have a piece. Use the opportunity to teach a lesson on the love of God to the parents and the children.

Picnic

This can be done on the church property, or at a park. It would be great if you have a park nearby with a swimming pool that can accomidate large groups of children. Kids love swimming. Prepare some games for the children with prizes. You could make it a BBQ. This is a great time to invite parents.

When the parents come to some of the programs above, invite them to the adult services of your church. Once they meet you, they may feel more comfortable coming to your church now that they know at least one person. Let them know what to expect when they come to church, and the start and finish time of Sunday services.



Getting New Teachers and Workers

Exposure - Numerous children’s programs are held while the church service is being conducted, and it is hard to get people to give up the Sunday morning service to help in a Sunday School class, or Children’s Church. Many people do not even realize that there is a program for children going on at the same time as the church service. To get some exposure for the children’s area, ask the pastor if the children can do a special presentation in front of the church occasionally. They could sing a song, do a little skit, or a puppet presentation. Whatever it is be sure it is short and sweet, and very professionally done. That way the pastor won’t mind if you ask him to do it again.

Parents - Another way to get people to see what transpires in the children’s area is to have a special day in your class where you invite the parents. That way it may be easier to get parents to be helpers after they have observed the class.

Don’t beg people, or tell them that you have no one else to teach, even if it is true. Ask them to come and observe the class. People want to get involved with a ministry that is exciting. Do you have a great program for the children? Is it organized? Do you have good control over the children? Another way to get people involved, is to ask them to do something special in the class for one Sunday. That way there is no commitment, and they will have a chance to observe what is going on in your class, or department. They could dress up and be a costume character, puppeteer, special guest for an object lesson, or teach a memory verse. It will also give you a chance to see how they conduct themselves in front of a class. If they do well, you can ask them back occasionally, and then finally ask them to get involved every Sunday.

Watch for people in your church that you think would make good children’s workers. Be careful who you get as a worker. It is good to ask the pastor before you ask anyone in the church to be a children’s worker, as he may have knowledge of problems in their life that would hinder them from being a good worker.

Ask the pastor to announce, in the service, the need for workers in the children’s area of the church. Many people will get involved if the pastor asks them. Some people don’t want to commit long term, or are afraid that they can’t teach, so just ask people to come and be a helper in the class. Most people feel they can do that much. I believe that once they start getting involved they will like it, because it is very rewarding. Christians need to be involved in the work of God, and the children’s area is a good place to start.

Ease Them In - Once you have someone that wants to get involved in the children’s department, ask them to help with the hand work, and craft, and crowd control while you are teaching the lesson. You will be teaching the children, and the new worker will be observing the way you teach. This is a great way to train workers. Once they have been observing for a couple of months, ask them to help with a game, or a memory verse. This will get them used to being in front of the class, and once they are fairly comfortable doing that, then you can ask them to teach the lesson. This way you are easing them into teaching. Some people are nervous about teaching if they have never done it before. Besides it is good to train them by having them observe the way you teach.. Hopefully they will copy some of the teaching methods that you use. If a potential teacher is in your class and it is poorly run, they will copy what they see, so it is important for them to observe good teaching methods.





Keeping Good Discipline in the Class

Keeping discipline in the class from the time the children come in until the time they leave is the key to a successful class. If you have a class of ten children or less you may not have a lot of behavioral problems, but when teaching large groups of children it is much harder to keep discipline. As most of the groups of children that I have taught were anywhere from 50 – 250, I really had to learn how to keep their attention, and hopefully what I have learned will help you. When dealing with children in large groups you had better be ready before they come into the classroom or you will have problems. If you are prepared before the children get to class, it will eliminate a lot of problems. There are many techniques that will encourage the children to behave, but it will take preparation on your part. I hope you will find some of the ideas below will help you with your class.



Get their attention and keep it. Once you have the attention of the children keep it. This is especially true when you begin the serious part of your lesson. You get their attention in the fun activities like, puppets, fun songs and games, then keep it during the story time. That is why it is important that during the serious part of your lesson you have lots of visuals like pictures or objects, and not just read the Bible. These are children! Keep everything rolling. Do not have any lapse in time, for example: looking for visuals, like pictures etc to teach with. You should have them all laid out in front of you and ready to go. With a list of what order each part of the lesson comes in. Be careful when asking the children questions. Ask questions with a simple yes or no answer. Sometimes the children take a long time answering other questions, which will cause the rest of the children to get restless. Don’t allow children to speak out during your program, as it will interrupt the flow of your lesson. A good rule is that during the lesson the children don’t speak unless they are spoken to. When you have special guests coming to your class, make sure that you tell them how long they should speak. You don’t want them boring the children, and losing their attention.


Give the children a reason to listen. What do you think it would take for a child to sit quietly and listen? Many times it does not take very much. For example, children love to help the teacher. Use this as a way to keep them quiet and sitting nicely. The way that I would use this method to keep discipline is as follows. I would point to a child and say, “You can help me with the game today as I see that you are sitting nice and quiet.” This sends a message to the other children that being quiet is worth the effort. Prizes or candy is another way to keep them quiet. Many people frown on giving children candy, or prizes. That is fine, as long as they have another way to keep them quiet. If not, try it, as I have found it very effective. My philosophy is that I would rather reward children for being good, than to discipline them for misbehaving. Let the children earn any treats they get. Try not to overdo giving out treats, as it will not work as a way to keep discipline if they get a lot of goodies. Children under five don’t understand the concept of everyone does not get a treat, but older children do. I find that for younger children it is better to give all the children a treat at the end of class, if they have been well-behaved. Make sure they realize that the treat is because they have been good. You can remind them once in a while during your program about the treats at the end of class, especially if they start to get restless. If they have not been good, then tell them that you can’t give treats out because they did not behave that day, but they will have another chance next time. It is hard not to give out the treats, but if you give it to them when they have not been good, they will know they don’t have to behave to get the treat. Kids are smarter than you think.



Post the rules at the front of the class and quote them each time you have your lesson. There may be new children who do not know the rules. Also the regular children need to be reminded each week about the rules. On the most part children want to obey unless they have emotional problems. I will deal with children with behavioral problems later.



Use every opportunity to keep discipline throughout the lesson. For example: When you're playing games with the children, tell them that you only choose well-behaved children to play the games. Remind them throughout the game that you are watching for children sitting nice and quietly, especially if they start getting rowdy. If you see a child that is well-behaved, point to the child and say, “I see that you are sitting so nicely and behaving yourself so I am going to choose you to play the game.” Don't say that for every child, but occasionally, especially if you see a child that normally gives you problems, and is now behaving well. This will reinforce the fact that you are watching the children to choose only the well-behaved ones .During a game if a child is misbehaving, I would say” I'm sorry Johnny I was going to pick you to play the game, but I see you're talking so I can’t pick you this time: but if you quiet down I will watch again to see if you’re good.”


Be sure that you are not the one that is distracting the children. Do you have expressions or habits that might distract the children from the lesson? Sometimes we are not aware of annoying habits that may take the attention away from the program.



Show the children that you are worth listening to. Use expression in your story. Use words like WOW!, GREAT!, FANTASTIC!, and SUPER!. Don't be boring! Also know the lesson well. Don't read it from the book. Look at the children while you are telling the stories. You are interacting with the children and if you have your face in a book you will lose the attention of the children. While you are looking at the children, you can tell if they are bored or if they are talking when they're supposed to be listening. You will also see what is causing the children to be distracted from the lesson. Sometimes it can be that you are taking too long to teach the lesson. Try to shorten it next time.



Don't use long and unnecessary words. Remember these are children, not adults. If you use too many words and take too long teaching the lesson you will lose the children's attention. You do not have to remember every word of the lesson. As long as you know the main facts, that will be enough. It is better to use fewer words and not lose their attention. The Bible is a very exciting book but you can make it boring if you are not careful.



Be persistent and predictable. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. For example: if you tell the children that if they don't quiet down you will not sing a song, or play a certain game that you know the children like, you need to take action if they continue to be noisy. Do not sing the song or play the game. It is better not to threaten action unless you follow through with it.



Children leaving the room. One of the rules that I would have is that no one can leave the room for any reason when the story is being told. Tell them that during the game, or action songs, they can leave the room only if they have to. It is better to remind the children each week to go to the washroom before they come into the classroom. I would also add a note that only one child at a time can leave the room. The first child must come back before the next one leaves. If you have a helper in the room, make it their job to watch the children to make sure they come right back. It is hard for you when you are teaching to be watching the children at the same time to make sure they come back when they're supposed to. For a small group this will not be a problem but for a large group it can be, so try to have a helper in the class. In fact it is a good idea to train new workers by having them observe and help before giving them a class. This way the experienced teacher will show the new worker how it's done.




Make your class a fun time for the children while they are learning. They can have fun and learn at the same time: in fact, they will learn more if they are enjoying themselves. Don’t just ask questions, make a game out of your questions instead.



Have a regular schedule for your class, but occasionally have new and interesting and fun things added in.


Some children want attention, and will act up to get it. When they see that you are giving more attention to the good kids, they will get the idea, and should settle down.


Don't allow interruptions during your class. This is especially true during the serious part of your lesson. Don’t allow other teachers or parents that come into your class to begin a long conversation with you. You only have one hour with these children and you need to value every moment that you have to minister to the children.


Love the children. They will know you care by your kindness to them. There will be times that you have to correct them, and they may not like it, but you are there to minister to them, not to get them to like you. If you discipline in a loving way, the children will accept correction. They will dislike it, but they know when they are misbehaving and deserve to be corrected.


Don't have favorites. This is very difficult sometimes, because we tend to like the well-behaved children, but it is the unruly child, or problem child that needs your love and attention more.


Children should look forward to coming to your class.If your class has a loving, calm, and fun atmosphere the children will like coming to your class. Just like we adults like to be in a comfortable and inviting room, so do the children. Encourage the children to be kind to each other, and to make new children to the class to feel welcome. At one children’s camp that I taught, there was a deaf child in attendance. Her mother told me afterward that her child was thrilled that we did the sign language with some of the songs. The next session that I had with the children, I told the children that we had a deaf child in our class, and that we should make her feel welcome. Maybe they could learn a few signs to talk to her. It ended up being a great time for all the children, as they tried to talk to the deaf child during the whole camp.



Don't have young children in the same class with older children. The attention span of a young child is very short, while the older child can sit much longer. Children under four years should not be in the same class as the older children. Don't allow your student to bring a younger brother or sister into your class. It will only distract from your lesson and from ministering to the other students in your class.



Remember you are the authority in that classroom.Whatever the rules are in your classroom, do not allow children to break the rules without taking action of some kind. If you will allow one child to break the rules, the other children are watching and will begin to break the rules.


Love what you are doing. If you consider your class as a ministry, and not something that you have to do because no one else will do it, you will enjoy the class.



Teach by example. Kindness goes a long way.


Children with Behavioral Problems


Try to find out why a child has problems. There are no bad children, as they are products of their circumstances. Love the child that has issues, as that child can sense that you don't like them and you will not be able to help them. If you look at it as a challenge and a way to help that child, because obviously the child has problems, you can turn that child around. There are so many reasons why a child behaves the way they do. Examples: the video games they watch. Many are filled with violence. If a child is filling their mind all the time with violence how can we expect them to act like nice pleasant little children. Sometimes it is problems in the home. Many children go through very trying times in their own homes. We all need love and encouragement in all our lives. When those things are not present at home, it causes the child to react, many times, in the wrong way.


The problem could be physical. Children with physical conditions can have problems with their behavior. If they cannot help what they're doing and you keep disciplining them for something they have no power over, only problems will incur. Sometimes the children are on medication that can cause them difficulties.

There are times when you need to speak to the parent, especially when you have tried everything else. They may be able to shed some light on what the problems is .In rare cases you may have to ask the parents to stay in the class and help you with their child. If they are not willing to do that, then you will have to tell them that you can’t handle their child in your class. You can’t jeopardize the well-being of the whole class for one child.


For a child that has low self esteem, do your best to build up their self esteem.


Always be watching for opportunities to encourage and reward good behavior especially with problem children.


You will be amazed at how the behavior of a child can change by the way you handle the situation. I babysat a young boy and his little sister many years ago. No one wanted to babysit the boy because of his behavioral problems. He was always acting up no matter how many times a person would try to correct him or punished him. As I watched the interaction between him and his sister, it was soon evident that his sister, who had blond hair and blue eyes, was very cute and well-behaved, was getting all of the attention. Every child wants attention and when they don't get it in the correct way they will misbehave to get it. Yelling at him, or disciplining him did not work, because he was getting the attention he was craving from acting up. This young boy was crying for attention so I gave him the right kind. Every time he did something right I would praise him for it. He then began to realize that he was getting attention when he was good, and not when he was misbehaved. I would say to him, “Jason, I love you, and you love me too don’t you?” He would always say, “No, I hate you.” I would tell him that I knew he really loved me. One day a friend of Jason whispered to me, “Jason told me he loves you.” The behavior of Jason started to change. All he needed was the attention he craved. It was worth all the effort for Jason, and for the children in your class. |How wonderful it is to make a difference in a child's life.


Look at it as a challenge to help a child with behavior issues. We as teachers need to help them with God’s help. Pray for the child during the week, and ask God to give you wisdom to minister to him. There are so many reasons why a child behaves the way they do, and it is God who knows the heart



 




Fun Objects

Kids love object lessons, and if used right will teach some great Bible truths. There are many Christian object lessons books at Bible book stores, and on line. You can also use simple objects around the house or outside. They can be a lesson in themselves, or emphasize the theme of the lesson. Below are a couple of object lessons that I have developed from objects around the house:


Theme: We look good on the outside, but inside is what God sees


A nice rosy apple

Cut it open and paint the core black. Then close the apple back up. Set it aside until you need it. Be sure that the children can’t see that the apple has been cut. When you are ready to use the apple, hold it together so it looks like the apple has not been tampered with. Show them how nice and juicy it looks. It looks good enough to eat, but let’s look at the inside. Open the apple and show them the black core. Now I’m sure you don’t want to eat it. We are like an apple. Everyone around us sees the outside of us. We can look very nice on the outside, but God sees what we are like on the inside. God knows all the bad things we do, and our hearts do not look nice to God. But God loves us, and He will forgive us for the bad things we do, and make us clean on the inside. (This would be a good time to lead the children in a Salvation prayer)


Theme: Find good friends, and stay away from bad ones


1apple, 1 onion, 1 carrot

Put faces on each one by cutting out of paper, eyes, and a mouth for each character

Telling the story:

(Hold up apple.)

This is Annie Apple and she looks so nice. Everyone liked being around Annie. Her best friend was Carol Carrot.

(Hold up carrot)

Carol told Annie that she saw her hanging around John Onion. She told Annie that John was not a nice guy and that she should not hang around him. Annie did not listen to Carol. She thought that she could be around anyone she pleased.

(Put down carrot and holdup the onion)

Annie liked John Onion and they became good friends, but John would get Annie into trouble because he wanted to do bad things, and Annie would listen to him and she would do wrong things also. It wasn’t long before no one wanted to hang around Annie, because she had hung around John too long. Can you guess why no one wanted to hang around Annie? She had stayed close to John Onion for a long time until she started to smell like an onion, instead of a nice apple. Who wants to hang around an apple that smells like an onion.

There are many other items around the house that you could use to teach a lesson to the children. The garden is also a great place to find objects that would teach great lessons. Examples are:

Ants- they work hard together, and so should we

Garden Plants –need sun, rain, and good soil to grow. We need the Word of God, and Prayer, and Obedience to God to grow into mature Christians.

Put your thinking caps on, and you will find many more ideas for object lessons.



Songs for Children’s Programs


Music Type

Songs are a powerful teaching tool. Don’t waste them on songs that the children have no idea what they mean. Use songs that go along with the theme of the lesson whenever possible. If your lesson theme is on loving one another, then sing songs that teach the kids to love one another. Use some of the same songs each week so that the children will be able to memorize them, but add a new one occasionally.

Don’t use songs that are meant for adults unless they are simple enough for children to understand. The children don’t know what the lyrics mean to most of the adult songs. The children like to feel older by singing adult songs, but the songs will not minister to them if they don’t understand them. There are many songs that teach a Salvation message; use them often, especially if some of the children are not from Christian homes.

Years ago the kids in my neighborhood went to our Sunday School. I would hear them singing the songs they learned in their Sunday School class as they played outside with other children The other children in the neighborhood would hear the gospel in the songs. Also, when the children sing them at their homes, the parents would get the gospel.


Music Accompaniment

If you don’t have anyone to play the piano or guitar, then find the songs on Cds and then just sing along with the Cds. I play the guitar, but my hands are tied up playing, and I can’t do any of the actions to the songs. As long as you have someone to do the actions, or signing, you are ok. I like CDs because I can do the actions along with the children. You need to get excited while doing the actions. Use fun action songs to get the attention of the children, and once you have their attention, don’t lose it. Keep things moving. Be sure to have everything ready for singing time so you don’t waste time looking for items. When you only have a few children in your class, it is easier to keep order, but with a large group, if you are not prepared ahead of time, you will have problems. It is helpful to have visuals for the songs. Either large card stock paper with the songs written down in large letters, and a picture that goes along with the song, or a projector with the songs projected on the wall.


Action Songs

Children like actions song, especially the younger children. Use songs that teach, but make them exciting. Some of the children’s songs on CDs available today are loud and rocky, and will just get the children hyper, and you will have a hard time settling them down. Find songs that have actions, but will not cause the children to get out of control. It is hard to get the children to settle down once you have lost control. If the children start getting out of hand with an action song, stop and tell them that if they don’t behave you won’t continue with that song. The children are just having fun, but they need to know there are limits, especially if they get rowdy.

Older Children Participation

Older children may not want to participate in action songs, and will hinder the younger children by acting like the songs are for babies. I have found the best way to deal with this problem is to get the older children involved in helping with the songs. Make them feel like workers rather than students. Another way I have dealt with this problem is to tell the children at the beginning, that because we have older and younger children present, we will have some songs for the older children and some for the younger. Ask all the children to participate in all the songs whether or not the song is for their age group.

Worship Songs for Kids

I love using slow worship songs with children, although there is a procedure I use to encourage the children to worship. When choosing a song that will minister to the children, I look for a song that magnifies Jesus. The music should be quiet and slow with no loud instruments in the background. The lyrics should be about Jesus loving us, or us loving Him, or about what He did for us.

The next important step is to have the complete attention of the children before you start worship. I will often tell the children that we are going into the quiet time of the service, and that it is the most important time for them to be quiet. Most of the time, with slow songs, I use sign language. There are books in the library on sign language, and also the internet is a great place to find information on using sign language with songs. You can also make up some signs to the song. Even though songs like“I love you Lord” and “Oh how I love Jesus” are typically adult songs, the lyrics are simple enough for children. They are nice worship songs that can easily be used with sign language. Using sign language gives the children something to do with their hands, and they are not just standing singing. It is a beautiful way to sing worship songs. I don’t allow the children to talk to each other during this time, as it will distract the other children. If you want the children to worship God while singing the song, then you worship along with them. You be the example to them on how to worship the Lord. If we are singing the song “I love you Lord”, I will tell the children that we are going to tell Jesus that we love Him during this song. During the song, I am praying that God will touch their hearts that they might sense His presence. You need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and pray for His leading. Several times during the singing in some of the crusades that I have conducted, I have seen tears in the children’s eyes. Children are going through problem and need God’s touch in their hearts. When that happens I know that I am not alone, that the Holy Spirit is doing only what He can do.

If you feel they are quietly singing, then do several worship songs, but if the children are not entering in, then go on to something else. It is the Holy Spirit that draws people to Christ, so I would spend time during the week to pray for the children that they might open their hearts to God. If you think you will have trouble keeping their attention, then use the quiet seat prizes as an incentive.



Puppets

(Make them and use them)


I will never know why teachers shy away from using puppets, as puppets are one of the greatest teaching tools that you can use with kids. The children will listen to puppets and remember what they say, much faster than anything you say. Watch the children light up when a puppet comes into the room.


They can be used for discipline, learning Bible verses, stories, songs, attendance, attracting children to Sunday school, etc.

If you announce that puppets will be at Sunday school next week, the children will try harder to be there. They will also tell their friends about the puppets. This will bring new children to Sunday school.


Ventriloquist Puppets


Sometimes it is hard to get people to commit to helping with puppets, or there are just no other workers in your church that can help you. When I traveled conducting children’s programs, it was not always possible to get helpers for puppets. I started using ventriloquist puppets, as I could do that alone. I felt like an idiot at first, but when I saw how the children responded, I was encouraged to keep working on it, until it became comfortable not only in front of children, but also with adults being in the audience. If you are nervous about trying puppets, it is better to start with the younger children. Once you are comfortable with the little ones, and then try it on older children


The trick to ventriloquism is that you have to learn to talk without moving your lips very much. It is helpful to have some kind of an accent, from another country, for your puppet. My first puppet was purchased at “One Way Street Puppet Company”. It was about $50. Because I was traveling in ministry, I thought it would be better to purchase a puppet rather than to make one. Also I needed a large puppet, so all the children could see it, because I taught large groups of children at one time. When the puppet arrived in the mail, I thought that it looked like a Mexican, so I called him Pedro from Mexico. I then listen to people speaking Spanish until I could get a little bit of a Spanish accent. It worked great in Canada, but when I went to Texas, and taught at a Vacation Bible School with quite a few Mexican children in attendance, it became a problem. I had a puppet named Pedro that could not speak Spanish. I told them that he lived in Canada for a long time, and forgot how to speak Spanish. Thankfully most of the children spoke English.


You do not have to be a professional. Start trying to talk without moving your lips. There are only a few letters that are hard to say without moving your lips, but if you are a Mexican, Italian, or some other foreign puppet, you are not expected to say every word perfectly. Little children will not be looking at your lips to see if they are moving. The very first time I tried it was with a kindergarten class. After the program a little child came up to me and told me that he knew how I made the puppet talk. At that moment, I thought if a child from kindergarten figured it out, I guess I was not very good. Then he told me that I had someone behind the piano doing the taking for the puppet. Needless to say, that make my day, and I have been doing ventriloquism ever since. Even with older children and adults, I found that they may look at your lips at the beginning, and even if they see your lips moving, they will start listening to the dialogue and enjoy the program.


An easier way to do vent puppets when you are alone is to have the puppet whisper in your ear, and then you tell the children what he is saying. As long as you do it with a lot of expression, the children will like it. The more expressions you use the better it will be. This is great way to do ventriloquism if you are just starting out, and do not feel comfortable trying not to move your lips.

Don’t go out and buy an expensive puppet when you are just beginning to use puppets. Make a little sock puppet, and try it first. (I will include a diagram on how to make a sock puppet.) Decide on a name for your puppet, and a few details that the children may ask you. For example they may want to know where the puppet is from, and how old he is. You can make it up as you go, but remember what you said, as you may be asked the question again, and you want to be consistent.


How to Use Your Puppet


A great way to use a puppet is to teach the children a Bible verse. Children really need to know the scriptures, and repetition is a great way to get verses into a child’s memory bank. Ask your puppet if he will help the children with the memory verse. Write the memory verse on a large sheet of paper, or a white board, so all the children can see it. Ask the children to repeat the verse with you a few times. Then ask the puppet if he knows the verse. The puppet will say yes, and tries to say the verse, but gets it all mixed up. Tell the children that we need to help the puppet by saying the verse a few more times. Then as the puppet tries again he says it better, but still makes mistakes. Ask the kids again to help. About the third or fourth time the puppet says it correctly. Get excited and tell the puppet he did a great job. The puppet thanks the kids, and leaves. This is a great way to get children to learn verses. This method can be used with a vent puppet, or by someone behind the puppet stage using the puppet while talking to you.


Another way to use a puppet is to teach the Bible story or any story that you want to convey. This works well with the puppet whispering in your ear, or a vent puppet, or a puppet behind the stage.

A puppet can get the kids’ attention while singing songs. Have the puppet, or puppets, sing along with the kids, or have the puppets sing a special song for the kids.


Using Puppets behind the Puppet Stage


Variety of Ways to Use a Puppet Stage


  1. When you are in front of the kids, a puppet behind the staged talks to you
  2. Several puppeteers moving the mouth of their puppets in sync with an audio song tape behind the puppet stage the puppeteers do not talk; they only move their mouths to the song.

4. Puppeteers follow a skit on a CD tape, and just mouth it and act out the skit.

5. Also the puppeteers can do the talking and act out the skit, or sing the song.


If you want a really good puppet production, you will need a few dedicated workers. It does take work to get a really nice puppet presentation. The easiest way to do puppets behind the stage is to have all the vocals on tape. This frees the puppeteers to concentrate on the movements of the puppets. The other reason is because it is hard to talk loud enough or speaking into a mike while manipulating a puppet. (The only exception would be if a puppet interacting with you in front of the kids, while the puppeteer is behind the puppet stage. It is helpful to have a mike behind the stage, as it is hard for the children to hear, if you have quite a few kids.)


There are many great children’s CDs with children’s songs on them that work well for puppets. You can make your own as well. You can purchase Bible stories on CDs as well as good quality puppets from puppet companies. Again you can make your own.

When you get your team of puppeteers together, train them to manipulate the puppets. The first thing they need to know is that they must look at their puppet all the time while the puppet is singing or speaking, to make sure the mouth is working properly. They need to move the mouth with every syllable, not the whole word that the puppet speaks. Also they should not open the mouth all the way, only about half way, as we don’t open our mouth all the way when we speak. Another reason for only opening the mouth half way is so that they can keep up with the CD’s vocal. Another important note is to keep the puppet high enough for the audience to see the puppet. The puppet should be belly button high to the top rail of the stage. The problem is to keep it there through the whole program, which brings up another point. Try not to have one puppeteer up too long as their arms will get sore and the puppet will slide downward without them even realizing it. Find songs on CDs that have solo singers as well as background singers, so that no puppet is up for a long period of time. When the puppets are coming up to sing, they should bounce up and stop in their place, and turn around and bounce down when they exit to make it look like the puppet is walking downward and upward. It looks a little more realistic, rather than having them pop up and down.


A good idea is to set up a video camera in front of the puppet stage and tape the puppet program while you are practicing, and show it to the puppeteer after the practice. This will help them to see where they need to improve.



PUPPET RESOURCES

http://www.axtell.com

http://www.puppetville.com/

https://www.thepuppetstore.com






Sock Puppet Tutorial


You can make sock puppets as simple, or elaborate as you like.

A simple puppet is made by taking a sock and slipping in on your arm. The foot part will hold your hand with your thumb at the bottom. You will use half the length of the foot for the head. The tip, where the toes go, fold between your thumb and fingers to make the inside of the mouth. Glue two eyes on the head and add a nose if you like. Decorate any way you like.

If you want a better puppet, then follow instructions below:

Items needed

Glue gun with glue

Scissors

Sock of your choice

Two ping pong balls, or foam balls for the eyes

Black felt material to glue around the eyes

Red ½” felt material for the inside of the mouth

Contact Cement


Begin by measuring across the sock as shown in picture.



Then cut a square of thin cardboard to the measurement across the sock. Mine is 3”, so I will make a 3” square. Make a circle out of the 3” square. Fold in half.

Turn the sock inside out and put contact cement glue on one side of the mouth.


Make sure the sock is flat, (put cardboard inside the sock to prevent the glue from sticking to the other side of the sock.) Then glue the mouth to the end of the sock where the toes go. Half on the top and half on the bottom. Hold until it sticks to the sock. Now turn the sock right side out, and you should have a nice looking mouth. You can then make a circle out of red felt fabric that will fit the mouth. Then fold in half and glue it to the inside of the mouth.




Take two small foam balls and glue a black piece of felt around each eye, and then glue the eyes together.


Then glue the eyes to the puppet’s head with a glue gun. Attach fluffy material around the head for the hair, and a pom pom for a nose.



Puppet Stage Construction

This is one of the best and easiest puppet stage to use. When I was traveling in ministry, the stage was easy to take down and set up. I did not have to hunt for small pieces as the small connectors are glued to the bars with PVC cement. The stage does not fall apart when performing a puppet program. The framework of the puppet stage is made from 1 ½” PVC pipe so it is easy to carry. It is good to mark each piece, as it makes it easy to assemble.

Cut a square 1” by 10” piece of wood for the base of the four legs. Attach a 1 ½” metal floor flange to the wood. The legs fit into the flange when you assemble the stage.

You can make the curtains from any heavy material that you can’t see through. It is better to make it a plain dark color. Hem the material and use Velcro to attach it to the stage.

After you have everything completed, it will only take five to ten minutes to set up the puppet stage. I found it great that I could put it together, and take it down, without any help.

The size of your puppet stage will depend on your personal preference. For a stage 5 ft across, make your crossbars 5’ for the front and back horizontal bars. If you make them any longer than five feet it may weaken the crossbar. If you want it longer, then you may need to put a connector in the middle of the crossbars. The two side horizontal bars need to be about 2½’. The two front legs should be about 3 ½’ high. The back bottom legs need to be slightly higher than the front legs. The back top leg extensions should be between 2 ½’ to 3’ depending on how high you want the back of the stage to be.



 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instruction for Making a Graduation Hats

Items Needed

One piece of 11 ½” X 8” black card stock (Bristol board)

Once piece of 12” X 12” foam board, or stiff cardboard

Tape or staples (staples work best)

Scissors

Strong glue (any brand that will work)

Directions

Cut the black card stock paper in half lengthwise, so that you have two 23” X 4” pieces of paper. Then cut eight equally spaced slits about an inch or two into one side of the card stock. It does not have to be perfectly spaced. Then staple, or tape the two ends together, to form a circle, by overlapping the ends a bit. It will depend on how big you want the hats to be. Fold over the eight slits inside the circle to form the base of the top of the hat. Glue the flattened one inch stilts to the 12” square form board. (12” square card board can be used instead) to form the hat. You can add a tassel by putting a hole in the top of the hat, and poking the end of the tassel string through the hole, and putting a knot in the end to hold it in place (you can tape or glue it in place, instead of knotting the end.)





Resources



Online Free Word Search Maker:

http://tools.atozteacherstuff.com/word-search-maker/wordsearch.php


Online Free Crossword Puzzle:

https://worksheets.theteacherscorner.net/make-your-own/crossword/


Free Power Point Bible Stories

http://www.freebibleimages.org/


Puppet Theater - Easy to Make

http://www.ziggityzoom.com/activity/puppet-theatre-easy-make


Creating Puppets With a Puppeteer : How to Make a Girl Puppet – YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3FSBN--tO4


DIY Crafts : How to make Sock Puppets - Ana | DIY Crafts – YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-mfUBQE3_s


Sermons 4 Kids for Power Point

http://www.sermons4kids.com/powerpoint_presentations.htm