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

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes! :)

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 package of dry cake mix (I used Betty Crocker’s party cake mix.)
24 cake cup cones (I used 12 jumbo size cake cup cones.)
Eggs, oil, and water as per the ingredients on the back of the cake mix box

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
Mix cake according to the directions on the back of the box
Place cupcake wrappers (cups) in the muffin pan
Place cones into the muffin pan
Fill the cones about ¾ filled
Bake for approximately 20 minutes
Cool, ice, and then eat!

ABC

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Introduction to the Lesson:

As the children came in the door to the Sunday school room, they were assigned a letter. The children could have been assigned one of three letters, A, B, or C. They were then instructed to use a plain white sheet of paper to list or draw items that started with their letter. After about ten minutes, the children shared what they came up with. I also shared the ABC’s of becoming a Christian with them.

Snack:

For snack I made ice cream cone cupcakes. My next post will provide instructions on how to make these. The kids enjoyed them! Plus, it was even one the birthday of one child! I didn’t even know it was his birthday, so this worked out perfectly!

The Lesson:

Together we read Acts 8:26-40. I stopped along the way to ask children questions about the passage. At the end of the passage, the children had the opportunity to earn prizes. If they were successfully able to answer a question correctly about the passage, they could pick one item from the “prize box.” I don’t often award prizes for this, but sometimes I do.

Lesson Extension:

When I arrived at the church, I opened my Sunday school bag to find that my glue sticks were missing in action. Instead of gluing three circles, each labeled A, B, or C, I improvised and had the children make a chain. The children labeled three circles, A, B, and C. Then they added the definition for each letter, and a verse that corresponds with each letter to separated circles. We then stapled them together to make a chain.
This is one of the many times that I am thankful to be a school teacher. A few years back, I would have panicked if I couldn’t find the glue sticks. Now I just say, “Okay, how can I make this craft happen?”

During the month of February, we will be learning more about what the Bible tells us to do regarding making decisions. I hope to post some ideas that I have planned later in the week. Stay tuned for the cupcake recipe and a post later this week!

Today is the perfect day for me to blog! It’s a snow day! I wasn’t feeling so great in the afternoon/evening yesterday, so I actually prayed for a snow day. The Lord is good and knew that I needed a day of rest. Parts of Pennsylvania also need a day or two not to rest, but rather dig out of all of this snow!

If you’re a parent of a 1st or 2nd grade Sunday school student at Stewartstown Baptist or a follower of my blog, you may be wondering what our class did last week (Sunday, January 23, 2011).

…so what did we do?

Introduction to the Lesson:

During this time, the children were given a blank sheet of paper and markers to draw a picture of a good choice that they made during the previous week. It was also during this time that we were able to listen to a new compact disc. We enjoyed listening to Dianne Hart. Dianne spoke at our church’s women’s conference early this month. She has made a children’s compact disc that she sells to raise money for children’s missions. As a young adult with a passion for children’s ministry, this was a must buy for me! The children and I love the music! We can’t wait to listen to it again this Sunday. Let’s just hope my dancing doesn’t get out of control! The children enjoyed me dancing around the table to see what good choices they made last week. Okay, maybe they didn’t enjoy it, but I sure did!

After the third song on the compact disc, the children and I discussed the good choices that they made. We also discussed what would happen if they didn’t make these good choices.

Snack:

During this time, the children shared their verses that they wrote down in their Bible verse journals at home. I enjoy listening and discussing these verses each week!

The Lesson:

We read Daniel 1:1-20. I always stop throughout the text, and ask the children comprehension questions. At the end of reading the passage, they always enjoy a “mini quiz.” I find that the children really do try to pay attention to the story, just so that they can answer all the questions correctly at the end.

Lesson Extension (This is where I wished that I actually took more pictures than I do. I need to get on that if I want to make a real blog.):

The children and I worked together to make “how to make choices card holders.” These were a suggestion from the leader’s guide that our church purchases. I find that on occasion I am able to use their suggestions. On other occasions, the crafts require expensive materials, so I have to modify them to fit my budget.

The “how to make choices card holders” were made of 1.5 paper plates. I had the children take one whole paper plate and half of paper plate. Once they lined their 1.5 plates up to make a pocket, I went around and stapled the plates together. Inside the pocket, the children placed colored index cards. Each of these index cards contained a step that the children would need to take in order to make a God glorifying decision. The children enjoyed this project, and talking more about making decisions. I am excited to hear about some good decisions that they made this week!

What Did We Do Today?

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Introduction to the Lesson

The children watched me write the list of occupations/hobbies below on the whiteboard. As they were watching me write, they were reading the occupations/hobbies. When I was finished writing the children were instructed to draw one of the occupations/hobbies on the whiteboard.

The list: deep-sea diver, astronaut, firefighter, police office, missionary, mountain climber, race car driver

After the children were given a brief period of ten to fifteen minutes, they were then asked to share their pictures with each other. Each child took time to share and explain their picture. It was so neat to see all of their creative ideas! When all of the children were finished sharing, I asked them what all of these people (the deep-sea diver, astronaut, police officer, etc.) needed in order to do their job. The children were had great guesses such helping others, but one child was rather quick to shout out that each needed to be brave. We then talked about how being brave does not mean that you aren’t afraid of anything. The children and I also discussed different items that these people may be afraid of.

Prayer Request Time

We have a time each week where children are able to share their prayer requests or praises. One child is responsible for writing the requests or praises on the whiteboard. At the end of the time of sharing, I pray over the requests.

Snack Time

The children ate fish just as those that brave deep-sea diver might encounter! :)

During this time, the children were also able to share the Bible verse that they wrote down this week at home. It’s always exciting to see the children digging into the Word while they’re at home.

Bible Lesson Time

The lesson this week focused on being brave. We read from the book of Esther! The children were able to learn how Esther was brave.

We then talked about how we can remember to be brave and to pray in the times that were are afraid. The children and I discussed situations in which we or someone we may know could be afraid.

Lesson Extension/Craft Time

The children made double sided posters. On the one side of the poster (small sheet of poster board), the children wrote “I will remember God is with me.” “I will pray.” On the other side they wrote “when I am afraid of…” The children then had to fill in a time that they might be afraid and draw a picture to correspond with it.

What Can I Do At Home This Week?
If you are a parent, and looking for a way to extend this lesson into your home….look no further!

Ideas:
-Re-read about Esther with your child
-Have your child retell the story of Esther
-Have your child list sometimes people may be afraid
-Further discuss what it means to be brave
-Pray with your child
-Read the Bible with your child

Next week we will enjoy learning about making good choices!

Yesterday

What was the first and second grade Sunday school class up to on Sunday, January 9, 2011?

Introduction to the Lesson: Each of the children created a picture. Their pictures demonstrated how we can do the “right thing.” The pictures ranged from sharing a teddy bear with an upset friend to making new friends.

Bible Lesson: 1 Samuel 24- “David Spared Saul’s Life”- As soon as I said the title of the lesson, one child immediately asked what the word “spared” means. I told the children that they needed to carefully listen to the scripture to see if they could figure out what the word meant. Sure enough, all of the children were able to learn the meaning of this “new word” before the reading was over.

Reinforcement of the Lesson: I always ask the children the review questions from the end of our unit of study. The children get excited for “question time.” It is exciting to see that the children are anxious to learn and understand God’s word.

Craft/Activity Time: Our church purchases a leader’s packet for each of the children’s Sunday school classes. This week I used the “Mitten Match” cards from the packet. The children had to match the mittens. One of the mittens would have an example of doing something right that would have to be matched with another mitten containing a Bible verse. Although some quickly caught on to the idea that the mittens were color coded, it was still fun making matches! After the children made their matches, they were given a blank pair of mittens. They were instructed to pick their favorite match, and create their own pair of paper
mittens!

Next week we will enjoy learning about being brave!