Today, I’m guest posting over at Crafty Mom 101 as part of Guest Post Month!
Here’s a little peek at my post to get you started:
At the beginning of Summer, I thought about making a Bucket List. My kids are now old enough to enjoy many of our local attractions so I wanted to make the most of this season. Of course, I never actually got around to writing the bucket list, but I did have a lot of ideas floating around my head. Walk to a nearby Dairy Queen to get ice cream? Check! Visit my sister and swim in her pool? Done! Visit a local “walk-through zoo”? Here we come!
I had seen billboards for Pymatuning Deer Park several times and every time I saw an ad, I thought “We should go there!” But alas, summer was slipping away and the day trip wasn’t on the calendar! I had heard many a friend talk about how fun it was and how much the kids enjoy it, so I finally buckled down, took a good hard look at my calendar and blocked out a day to go. My friend Nicole and her kids signed up for the fun too.
Want to teach your child about the Bible, but don’t know where to start? It’s not as hard as you may think! Here’s a few ideas to get you started!
1. Use a Coloring Page
The internet is full of Bible themed coloring pages (look at Ministry to Children or Danielle’s Place to get started). Why not print out a few and talk about the Bible story as you and your child color together?
2. Stick Puppets
I don’t know what it is about a Popsicle stick, but as soon as you slap one on a picture, it becomes 10x more fun! Even if you use a simple Bible character figure like the ones found here, you can really up the sticking power of a Bible story. You can also make masks out of paper plates based on the story (like Lion’s from Daniel 6).
Grab something from your closet or shelves to help really bring the story home (pun intended!) For example, use a colorful bathrobe or coat to tell the story of Joseph’s colorful coat or use a blow-up boat to tell the story of Jesus calming the storm.
4. Actions
Some kids learn better by moving, so why not throw some fun activity into story-time. One of my favorite resources for this sort of thing is the “Forget Me Not Bible Story Activities” book (you can grab a free sample chapter here). Of course, you don’t need an extra book to do this — usually there’s some kind of action in the story – just read the passage ahead of time to find it. For example, in the account of the 10 Plagues (Exodus 7), you could have the kids jump like frogs, buzz like gnats or even cross their arms and say “NO!” like Pharoah.
5. Story Bible
Want to take it easy for a night? Grab a story Bible and read a few pages in it. There are some really great ones out now and the pictures and easy wording keeps kids engaged. Some of my favorites?
Want to focus on just one story? Grab a story book of a popular Bible story. Golden book has a ton, but there are new ones coming out every day, so look around. There are even e-books with Bible stories in them!
7. Puppet Show!
Everything is more fun when you make a production out of it. Recently, I read about a family’s reenactment of the Ruth story and thought it was a great way to make the Bible come to life for kids. Read about the full experience here!
8. What’s Missing?
When you get ready to tell the story, let your child know there will be a QUIZ GAME at the end. Be sure you mention the word GAME as this will automatically produce feelings of fun. :) When you’re done with the story, start to tell it again, but pause at key events (or names) and have your child fill in the blank. Of course, adding candy to the mix might up the enthusiasm quotient.
9. On Location
Everyone loves a field trip, right? Take your Bible story to a whole new level by telling the story “on location”. Are you learning about Zacchaeus in Luke 19? Climb a tree in your backyard and tell the story. Are you talking about the Israelites wandering around the desert (Exodus/Leviticus)? Take the kids to the beach and play with sand as you tell it.
Photo taken from Impress Your Kids
10. Engage the Senses
As you read through a Bible story, imagine what it would have been like to be there. What would you have heard? Seen? Perhaps tasted or smelled? Recreate those experiences for your child! Learning about how Jesus fed the 5,000 in Matthew 14? Cook some ready-made rolls and fish sticks for dinner! Amanda from Impress Your Kids (one of my most FAVORITE blogs) tells making potpourri with her kids as they learned about Mary annointing Jesus’ feet (read all about it here).
Mostly, just have fun with the Bible. It is chock-full of fabulous stories, so the hard part is already done for you. Now you just have to build onto a great foundation! You can do it — stay in the Bible yourself and you’ll be surprised at all the opportunities you have to talk about this great book!
Hey Everyone! We haven’t had much time to read this week, since I’ve been busy PACKING! In a whirlwind of a decision, we decided to put our house on the market and I have been scrambling to pack away all the pictures and nonessential stuff so it will be ready whenever someone wants to see it. My husband and I have been casually looking for a new house on a quieter street for about 8 months, but haven’t seen anything that really struck our fancy until last week. Of course, we have to sell our house before we can buy another one, so the race is on!
I did manage to squeak in a little reading though!
What I’m Reading
Mockingjay (Hunger Games, Book 3)
What can I say? I’m hooked. I polished this one off in about a day, just like Catching Fire. The book itself was great, and though I can’t say I’m disappointed in the ending, it did seem to wrap up a little too quickly. Of course, I would still recommend it for some great easy reading!
Reader’s Digest
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m having trouble getting back into nonfiction after the Mockingjay. So I’ve picked up a few more magazines this week to ease the transition!
Easy Daily Lesson Plans
As I may have mentioned before, I run a home day care and am always looking for fun theme ideas. Pinterest is great for that sort of thing, but there’s nothing like holding a book in your hand and browsing the ideas. This was at our local library and is PACKED with great ideas!!
What My Toddler is Reading
Three Little Pigs
We’re starting to do a little homeschooling (follow our journey over at 3 Boys and a Dog where I’m serving as a regular homeschool craft writer) and this week, we’re focusing on the Three Little Pigs. We got all kinds of different versions from the library and have been making masks, puppets, and little houses to go along with the theme. I might even makes some bacon for a themed snack. :)
My Little Pony Look and Find
If you haven’t picked up one of these “Look and Find” books for your little one, I would suggest you do so. On each page, there are 4-5 objects on the sidebar that the child needs to find in the picture. It’s just challenging enough to be a ton of fun.
What My Baby is Reading
My First Signs
I’m thrilled that my 13 month old is finally starting to get interested in signing, so we’ve been piling on the sign language books this week. This is one of my favorites because it’s a board book and has a lot of the everyday signs in it.
Old MacDonald Had A Farm
I know I mentioned this before, but the kid can’t get enough of this Touch and Feel book, so I thought I’d throw it into the mix again this week!
The CMLeaders Conference is coming up in a few weeks (have you entered for a free ticket yet??), and I want to read Brian Dollar’s book, I Blew It, before I go as well as The Eric Trap by Sam Luce, Jim Wideman and friends. What about you? Reading anything good this week?
Thanks for stopping by! I absolutely love sitting outside in the summer and reading while the kids run around and play. The weather has turned a bit colder around here (Erie, PA), so I’m trying to cram in all the summer reading I can this week!
Our recent trip to the library left me hauling four bags of books home. Guess I went a little crazy!!
What I’m Reading
Kidmin Leadership by Jim Wideman (and friends)
I was inspired by Brett Dumler to pick up the Jim Wideman book I bought awhile ago. When I first purchased this book, I felt a little overwhelmed and couldn’t really get into it. However, this time I flew through it. The chapters are quick and each one focuses on one part of leadership. The contributors to the book are members of Jim Wideman’s Infusion mentoring program, so it’s really interesting to see what each picked up from the experience (at least a small part!) Certainly worth looking through!
How to Keep the “Good” in Your Boy by Dannah Gresh
I received a review copy of this book a LONG time ago, but then totally forgot about it. Yikes!! I started reading with diligence this week and am really surprised with the content of this book. I’ve read Dannah Gresh before and like her work, but she’s really stepped up her game with this one. It’s full of scientific discussion about hormones and the role they play in a young boy’s mind, actions, and attitude. She talks about the importance of the mother-son relationship as well as the impact a father has. It has some great tips and is definitely worth reading. I think I’ll give away a copy of this at our church’s next Family Fun night! (A more detailed review coming soon!)
Catching Fire (Hunger Games)
My husband and I just watched The Hunger Games movie the other night and though it was a little bloody for my taste, the story line intrigued me enough to borrow the second book through Amazon prime (I love Amazon Prime!!!). I’m about a third of the way into it, and am really liking it. It’s always an adjustment to go to the book format after watching a movie — the book is so much more detailed, but this one has been worth it so far.
The Busy Mom’s Book of Preschool Activities by Jamie Kyle McGillian
We’re sort of starting to homeschool this year with our 2.5 year old. We’re setting aside an hour or so every day for structured learning. Of course, I can’t do anything without checking out 15 books on the subject (hence the stuffed library bags), so I’ve got a lot of preschool books to browse in the next few weeks. This one isn’t anything spectacular. It’s got a few cute ideas like Jello Jiggler ABC’s or Family and Friends Phone book with pictures,but nothing you couldn’t find browsing Pinterest for a few minutes. Wait–who browses Pinterest for a few minutes? That thing eats time for dinner (then posts the recipe!) Hopefully the other books will be better!
What My Toddler is Reading
Big Bird’s Square Meal
Speaking of preschool, last week’s theme was shapes, so we’ve still got a bunch of shape books hanging around. I like this one because it explains all the shapes as you go along, working them into the story instead of having to stop at every page asking “What shape is this”. Great flow and very educational!
Speaking of preschool, if you want to follow along on our homeschool adventures, check out Kelli’s blog where I’m serving as a homeschool craft writer on Wednesdays!
Crackers, Pancakes, and Pizza
This one wasn’t one of my favorites, but Chipmunk seems to be entralled with it. The premise is simple.. introduce a shape and then show a bunch of foods in that shape. It would be great inspiration for lunches while you’re learning shapes.
Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot
This week’s preschool theme is The Three Little Pigs, so I thought I’d throw in a different version of the story for fun. Personally, I think the story might be a little scary for two year olds, but my husband disagrees. Chipmunk asks for it every night, so I guess it must not be too scary. Great pictures and just the right length for a bedtime story!
What My Baby is Reading
Baby Signs
Little Monster has finally decided to pick up sign language (yeah!) with his first sign being “ice cream”. I guess he just needed the right motivation! Now that he’s experienced the satisfaction of communicating, he’s been picking up other signs too. This is a classic book (one we used a lot when I worked at Early Connections Day Care) and gives simple pictures for basic signs like eat, sleep, dog, cat, and help. Great first birthday gift!
A friend I met at The Gathering asked me to guest post on his blog today, telling how I formally prepared for the ministry. He’s got some terrific people lined up for the rest of the week including Amy Dolan and Matt Guevara, so be sure to check back again. I’ll get you started here, and you can jump over to Collie’s blog to finish it up!
Walking onto Geneva College’s campus that day, I had no idea what awaited me during the next four years. I knew I was wildly excited. I also knew I was extremely nervous. Would I make friends? Would I be able to keep up in class? How exactly was I going to pay for tuition? How homesick would I get?
Turns out, making friends is pretty easy when you’re a freshman. And classes? Those ended up being absolutely amazing (all except Humanities that is!) I graduated Geneva with a double major in Human Services and Christian Ministries. However, no matter what major you picked at Geneva, you heard a lot about Biblical worldview. And I do mean A LOT.
At first, it was slightly annoying. Even though I grew up in a Christian home, I wasn’t used to talking about the Bible THIS MUCH.
Even though I’ve packed two conferences into one month, I anticipate they will be very different experiences. CM Leaders is all about leadership (something you can never learn too much about!) and will focus on developing, leading, and disciplining those in my kidmin team. As our church grows, I’m having trouble knowing how to develop the leaders effectively on my volunteer team and I’m anxious to hear some practical insights as well as some great heart lessons at CM Leaders. Not only that, I’m on the blogger team with some great people such as Barbara Graves, Bill Gunter, and Wayne stocks (did I miss anyone?)
The Bloggy Conference is for women bloggers (mostly mothers) and I think it’s be a time of great refreshing as I connect with other women and bask in all the creativity and talent around me. I can’t wait to meet some new friends and connect with my blogger friends!
Join Me at CM Leaders (FOR FREE!)
I’d love for you to be a part of the CM Leaders conference with me! And I’ve got a free ticket to help that happen!!
Just leave a comment about which aspect of the conference you are most interested in: develop, lead, or disciple.
You can score another entry by tweeting and then leaving a comment to let me know you did! (you can tweet everyday):
“Hoping to win a free ticket to #CMLeaders Conference via @lrwhitney! You can too! http://bit.ly/N7EpTf #kidmin
A Few Basics
The CM Leaders Conference is being help September 13-14, 2012 (that’s a Thursday and Friday) at Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Grove City, Ohio (which is a south-western suburb of Columbus).
Registration costs is $237 but you can register for $99 when you put barbaragravesin as your promo code when you sign up by Sept 11. You can check out the Frequently Asked Questions here! Oh yeah, and all the cool kids are staying at Comfort Inn.
Check out the CM Leaders Line-Up!
There’s going to be some amazing people at this conference and I can’t wait to start learning!
Steve Adams
Brian Dollar
Margaret Feinberg
Phil Vischer
Marie Kuck
Denise Muir-Kjesbo
Bo Harrington
Craig Johnson
Brad Tate
Larry Fowler
Mike Johnson
Sam Luce, and
Michael Chanley
Try Your Luck Here Too!
In case you want to up your chances of getting in on the fun, head over to these great blocks and enter to win a free ticket there too!
