Archive for December, 2010

Get Moving! (More Christmas Break Fun)

By Lindsey | December 28, 2010 | Elementary Age, Games, Parents, Preschoolers | 1 Comment

Here’s some fun activities to get your kids up and moving (I’m sure you’ve watched all your Christmas movies at least once by now!). Ideas are taken from The Activity Book. Get yourself a copy for hours of fun!

Find that Sound (8 months+): For this game, hide a musical toy while your child isn’t looking and then let her use her ears to discover the toy.
Pillow Walk: Throughout the room, pile bed pillows and sofa cushions around the floor. Have your child jump from pillow to pillow to cross the room. Have them rearrange the pillows and do it again.
Under and Over (18mo+): Play follow the leader (you!) throughout the house, taking care to climb over and under things to help develop large muscle coordination.

Stay tuned for more fun!

Christmas Break Fun

By Lindsey | December 27, 2010 | Elementary Age, Games, Parents, Preschoolers | No comments

Looking for some activities to do with the little ones while they are on Christmas break? Here’s some great ideas from The Activity Book.

My Life Story: Gather photos of your child and important people in her life. Put the photos in a sturdy photo album, writing captions and names if you’d like. This a great way for kids to learn the names of distant relatives. You could also have your child make up a story as they turn the pages of their book, incorporating each person into the story as they go!
Dinner Party: Use one of the gift boxes as a table for this pretend game. Children can make menus out of construction paper and cut pictures from magazines for illustrations. Serve pretend or real food.
Picture Match: Collect and cut out a number of magazine pictures that can be grouped. For example, cut out two pictures of dogs, babies, food, houses, cars, etc. Glue each picture onto an index card and have your child play the game by finding matches of like items.
Trace Me: Use a giant sheet of paper (butcher paper or something similiar). Have your child lie down and then trace his outline. Have your child color in his face and outfit. Cut out the form and hang it on his bedroom door. You could also draw a giant Christmas tree and have them decorate it.
Butterfly Wings: Fold a piece of white paper in half and then unfold it and place it on the table. Have your child put a few drops of paint on various colors on the paper (one side of the crease only). While the paint is still wet, refold the paper and press the two halves together. Open again and let dry. Once draw, cut into the shape of wings for a beautiful butterfly!
Paper Snowflakes – decorate the house in style, no matter what climate you live in!

Be sure to check out this post for more ideas:

Tuesday: Get Moving!

Making Choices: Piercings in the Ministry

By Lindsey | December 23, 2010 | My Thoughts | 6 Comments

This week, we are very saddened by the resignation of our Youth Leader and his wife. Our youth group kids are trying to process their loss and cope with suddenly being leaderless again (twice in the last year). Certainly, we have endured a bit of hardship in trying to grow the youth group.

So what was behind this decision? A difference of opinion it seems. Our youth leader’s wife recently got her lip pierced and the pastor asked that it be removed.

The youth leader’s take? Piercing is not sinful, thus his wife should be able to exercise Christian liberty and keep it in. If the church can’t accept that, then they cannot continue to worship in a place that passes judgement on people because of piercings and tattoos.

The pastor’s take? Though many things are permissible, not all are beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). As a ministry leader, there is no benefit to facial piercings. It could be stumbling block to youth, a cause of division between parents and youth, and is certainly not professional looking. Many secular organizations don’t allow facial piercings, why should it be allowed in the church?

What’s your take? Is the request too much? What constitutes being judgmental?

Resources to Check Out:

It’s Only a Tattoo

Battle Cry for a Generation: The Fight To Save America’s Youth

Timeless Youth Ministry: A Handbook for Successfully Reaching Todays Youth

Decision Making and the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View

Build a Better Blog: Let the Reviews Begin!

By Lindsey | December 21, 2010 | 31DBBB | 7 Comments

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the late post, I was out of town yesterday visiting a friend from college. This week’s blogger challenge task is to develop an editorial calendar for your blog. The idea is to brainstorm ideas at the beginning of the week so you don’t have to come up with posts throughout the week. Instead, you can concentrate on writing.

While Darren (Problogger) suggests coming up with ideas on Sunday or Monday, I’ve found it’s super helpful for me to actually slam out a rough draft of all my posts for the week on Sunday or Monday. Usually when I start writing, I end up on a roll, making it easier to write five posts at once rather than one post every single day. What about you? What’s your best strategy for staying on top of things?

I’ve also realized it’s time for the Blog Review to begin. If you’d like your blog to be reviewed/evaluated by the other Challenge Bloggers, leave a comment below and we’ll start scheduling. Next week, we’ll pick a “blog of the week” and post some questions for others to answer about your blog. If there’s a particular question you’d like addressed, be sure to leave that in the comments as well. Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas!

Birthday Party for Jesus {Pictures}

By Lindsey | December 17, 2010 | Christmas, Games | No comments

Here are some pictures from our recent “Birthday Party for Jesus”.

Kids helped read the Bible Story

Decorating Cupcakes

Playing some Party Games

What kinds of things did your church do to bring this holiday home for the kids?

Birthday Party for Jesus!

By Lindsey | December 16, 2010 | Christmas | 3 Comments

We just finished up our kids Christmas Play and are not starting our new curriculum till the New Year. We don’t have services the 22nd or 29th because of the holidays, so we’ve got one lonely Wednesday to fill with fun. What better activity than a party? And what better party, than a party for Jesus!

The Plan

Fill the gym with some balloons, play some party games, and have the kids frost cupcakes and decorate them. We’ll read the Christmas story out of Read and Share Bible and then perhaps have the kids give “gifts” to Christ. These can be a talent, a song, a Bible verse, a joke, a prayer, or something along those lines.

The Games

Minute to Win it Games are always a hit. Check out the Back to School Bash post for a list of games or click through the other Minute to Win it posts for ideas.
We might also try a few of these classic games: Limbo, Musical Chairs, Hot Potato (or hot Christmas ornament).
Also, the kids love this crazy “find the straw” game, so we might play that with some candy canes.