Letters to Our Future Selves

Letters to Our Future Selves

Materials:

• Paper

• Envelopes

• Writing utensils 

What I Did:

I passed out paper and writing utensils and helped the children out with what they should write down in a letter that will be given to them once they graduate from my class. I included things such as "2 most recent things God has done in your life" and "What you want to be when you grow up". I also had them write on the outside of the envelope their name and what grade they are in now so I know how to differentiate them from each other in different grades. I will give it back once they graduate from the class and they will see (maybe!) how different their life and opinions are now. 

Daniel and the Lions' Den

Daniel and the Lions' Den

Materials:

• Cupcake papers/holders

• Markers

• Construction paper

• Glue

What I Did:

I wrote "Daniel in the lions' den" at the top and "God sent an angel to shut the lions' mouths." at the bottom of the page. Then I drew a stick figure of Daniel (and you can also draw the angel since the angel was addressed) and then I drew lion faces inside of the cupcake papers and glued them down to the paper with Elmer's glue. Simple and fast!

Ways to Stop Unfriendly Teasing

Materials:

• Paper
• Anything to write/color with (pencil and markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc).
• Dry Erase board/chalk board (totally optional)**

What I Did:

This is super easy to do last minute. 

I passed out paper to each of the kids and told them to draw their hand with a pencil on the paper, and draw a little bit of an arm for later (in case we have extra ideas). Then I drew on a dry erase board so that all of the students could see. I drew my own hand and arm and I wrote 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 on each of my fingers, circled. Then I asked the class what they think are some good ways they think to handle a situation they are in if they are being teased or are being treated badly while at school. As we wrote down the ideas, I had them write them down on their sheets too. I had them draw a little bit of arm in case anyone else throws something out and you have already reached five total. Then just start numbering them off down the arm.

At the end, if extra time allows, color the papers. Coloring always takes up time. :)

Locks Game

Materials:

• Small locks (about 8-10)
• Keys that match every lock
• Paper to write verses on
• Something to contain all of the above supplies

What I Did:

I bought the cheapest, smallest locks I could find at Big Lots ($2 per lock) and wrote down easy-to-memorize verses on them, and put where in the Bible they are found on the keys (or the other way around, as shown in the picture below). I placed them in the middle of a circle of children and told them to go for it. 

You could easily reuse these keys and locks again for other purposes, maybe books of the Bible or stories in the Bible, etc. Any category that you can pair with something else works great. 

TP Bald Eagles

TP Bald Eagles                                                                4th of July

Materials:

• Toilet paper rolls
• Printer/paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Something to color with

What I Did:

First I made sure I had enough TP paper rolls and I printed off enough templates for the students. The website I printed them off from is http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mbaldeagle.htm. I colored every unattached piece first and then taped the body to the roll. Then I glued every other piece on that was already colored. The dotted lines are to be folded under. Here is a picture example:

The tail on the back is glued to the body so as not to flap on and off. The feet are folded under the roll on the dotted line and glued inside of the roll.

Father's Day Bottles of Love

Father's Day: Bottles of Love                                    Father's Day

Materials: 

• Plenty of Reese's Pieces
• A container that has a lid on it (i.e., bottle)
• Tags
• Paper (copy paper or scrapbook paper, your choice)
• Tape and/or glue
• Crayons/markers/colored pencils

What I Did:

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought small sand bottles (99 cents a piece!) and a few pieces of scrapbook paper for the paper that goes around the bottle and cheap tags you can write on to put around the opening of the top of the bottle. I got 4 bags of Reese's Pieces at Walmart.

I had the students write "Happy Father's Day!" on cut out pieces of scrapbook paper and tape that around the bottle, then fill the bottle up with Reese's Pieces. Then I had them write on the tags "I love you to pieces" and tie that around the opening, screwing the lid on afterwards.

After that, I had them write personalized cards to go with their gifts to their fathers. 

And then we all enjoyed some leftover Reese's Pieces! :) 

Jonah in the Big Fish

Jonah in the Big Fish                                                             Anytime

Materials:

• Paper
• Colored pencils/markers/crayons
• Elmer's glue
• Googly eyes (optional; can just draw and glue eyes if preferable)
• See-through cups/balloons

What I Did:

I personally drew Jonah and the fin on pieces of paper for the students to cut out so that it would be cost-effective and easier. They can color the paper if they would like or you could buy colored paper to paste. I used Elmer's glue on the googly eyes on the side of the cup and then used Elmer's glue on Jonah on the inside of the cup and on the fin on the bottom of the cup. Then laid them out to dry. 

*Side note: I used cups instead of balloons because I was worried about hearing them pop in the middle of the service after Sunday School. ;)