Back to School Celebration

The Sunday before the children start back to school, I have a back to school celebration or them. We start class by coloring a backpack and discussing what our favorite things about school are. After that we do our usual routine of prayer requests and praises, bathroom break, and snack time. For snack I usually try to bring in a special treat that we don’t always have. For example, I might bring in popcorn or donuts. Since we had popcorn last Sunday, we will probably have donuts this Sunday. After snack time, we talk about ways and places to share our faith at school. We also talk about praying before school in the morning and praying for our lunch at lunch time. I also encourage the students to invite someone in their class to Sunday school. Our back to school celebration is fun for the children! They love the end of Sunday school class when they receive a back to school pencil box filled with pens, pencils, erasers, glue, glue sticks, and a mini notepad. What do you do to celebrate “back to school”?

Focus on Prayer

Introduction to the Lesson: Each of the children was given a large index card. On the index card they were instructed to draw a picture of someone that they could be praying for today and in the upcoming week. On the back of the card, the children wrote the name of the person. Together we shared and prayed for each of these individuals.

Prayer Time: Prayer was a big focus of our Sunday school hour today. However, we focus a lot on prayer, probably more than usual for a children’s Sunday school class. Each week one child takes the prayer requests and writes them on the white board. Every child has the opportunity to share requests each week. Today we talked about how we cannot only pray for these requests on Sunday but every day of the week.

Snack Time: Today the children had pretzels and fruit snacks.

Bible Study: Acts 12:5-19 (The Church Prayed for Peter)
Today I read aloud Acts 12:5-19 to the children. We stopped and discussed the text. At the end of the reading, the children read and responded to previously printed questions.

Lesson Extension: I have to admit that I do Sunday school on a budget. As a result of this, there was not a craft idea that I could think of for this week. In place of a craft, the children played “basketball.” They were given review questions printed in the Life Way leader guide for June, July, and August. The children took turns answering questions from each of the three weeks so far in July. I was extremely impressed by how much they remember about the gospel.

Next Week: We will be reading, talking, and praying more about missionaries!

Reading, Study, Praying, and Praising

Wow, an update! :)

Yes, it has been a long time since I have updated the first and second grade Sunday school blog. Rest assures that the children and I have been busy reading and studying God’s word. We have also been busy praying and praising the Lord!

Our church chooses to use the Sunday school curriculum from Life Way. Life Way does an excellent job with designing a curriculum that is suitable for the first and second grade level. However, I am finding myself supplementing the material as the children become passionate about certain areas. For example, last week’s lesson focused on missionaries. For the next several weeks, my Sunday school class will be doing our regular curriculum as well as learning more about different missionaries. The children really enjoy learning about missionaries. Every Sunday the children want to pray for missionaries. Last Sunday was a great day to discuss missionaries. Since all of the children were eagerly anticipating the start of VBS, we discussed how the children can be missionaries in their own back yard. We talked about how they could minister to a friend by simply invited him/her to come to VBS. It is my hope and prayer that the children will not only grow in the Lord, but also tell others about him.

Stay tuned for more postings on our study of missionaries.

Let's Talk About Mother's Day

Mother’s Day Celebration

This year my Sunday school class had a special Mother’s Day celebration! Each child brought his/her mother to Sunday school. The moms and the children spent the Sunday school hour together. We started off class by working on a word find. The word find contained key words from the story of Ruth and Boaz. After completing their word finds, the children read scripture with their mothers. They read Ruth 1-2; 4:13-17. Upon completing the reading, the children had breakfast with their mothers. The children worked hard to serve the mothers the food. When most people were finished eating, we continued to learn about Ruth and Boaz. The children were asked questions about their reading. After a time of answering questions about Ruth and Boaz, the children and their mothers worked hard to color a flower pot and plant a flower. Overall, we had a wonderful Mother’s Day celebration!



As an added bonus, this week’s lesson was about families learning together! This week’s lesson was easily reinforced with references to last week’s event.



Next on our Sunday school calendar is “Donuts for Dad.” We look forward to celebrating Father’s Day in June!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Bible Passage: Genesis 3

Bible Truth: People choose to obey or disobey God.

Memory Verse: Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight. Deuteronomy 6:18
Previewing the Lesson: The children created lists of ways to obey God. They then took turns sharing their lists.

The Lesson: The children and I read Genesis 3. I stopped frequently to ask them questions about what we were reading. At the end of the reading, the children verbally responded to questions about the passage. The questions ranged from general comprehension to life application.

Lesson Extension: The children made paper flower gardens. I used me Circuit to cut out flowers ahead of time. The children then glued then created grass and stems for the flowers. After that, they glued them onto a large sheet of construction paper. On top of the large sheet of construction paper, they wrote Deuteronomy 6:18. ***This was a craft modified from the LifeWay Leader Guide for 1st and 2nd grade.

We Are Mighty to Serve!

As part of the Sunday school class, I try to find ways that the first and second grade class can share Jesus with others. For example, every year we collect items and fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. In addition to this, we try to find other ways that we can serve and share our love of Jesus Christ. For example, if we have a church member that is sick or recovering from surgery, we will shower the person with cards and prayers. For the past month or so, we have been sending a card each week to a church member who had surgery. This week, I received a beautiful letter from her in the mail. I can’t wait to share the letter with the children tomorrow! They will be so excited! How do you share Jesus with others?

What Did The First and Second Grade Sunday School Class Do On February 20th?

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Lesson: Jesus Visited Mary and Martha from Luke chapter ten verses thirty-eight through forty-two

Introduction to the Lesson: The children in my Sunday school class absolutely love word finds! Every so often I will create word find with words from the lesson. The children love to work together to find all of the words. This week they had to find eight words for the upcoming lesson. I love using word searches as an introduction to the lesson, because the children already know some of what we will be reading about! They love to be able to connect the words that they found earlier in the Sunday school hour to what they are reading out of the Bible.

Lesson Time: I read Luke 10:38-42 to the children. I stop during the reading to ask the children questions about the text. At the end of the lesson, I passed out an index card to each child. Each of the index cards had different questions on them relating to the scripture that we read as well as the life application (How We Can Serve the Lord). The class then goes around in a circle. Each child reads his/her question, and the other children answer the question. This really helps to reinforce the concepts form the lesson.

Craft Time: The children made a paper plate serving clock (modified from a Life Way resource). Before making the craft, I had the children brainstorm with me ways that we can serve the Lord. I wrote the ideas on the white board in the Sunday school classroom.

Here are the instructions for making the clock:
1. Distribute a plate to each child
2. Have the children fold the paper plate to make four even sections
3. Have the children use marker to label the hour marks of 3, 6, 9, and 12
4. Ask the children to write or draw four ways that they can serve the Lord, one in each section of the clock
5. Have pre-cut strips for the hour and minute hand
6. Have the children cut/glue or use a brass fastener to connect the paper strips (clock hands) to the paper plate
7. Have the children share their clock with others

Lesson Extension: Word Collage- The children used a half sheet of construction paper to glue on this week’s memory verse, which is Galatians 5:13 (Serve one another through love). They then used marker to write ways that we can serve the Lord around the memory verse. We hung them up on the Sunday school bulletin board. I hope to share a picture of our bulletin board in the near future…as this will encourage me to do more work on the bulletin board.

Looking for ways to reinforce this week’s lesson at home?
-Have your son/daughter tell you the story from this week
-Re-read the Luke 10:38-42 with your son/daughter
-Brainstorm ways with your son/daughter that you can serve the Lord
-Continue to pray with your son/daughter