All posts in Preteens

The Almighty Bible: Exodus

By | October 12, 2011 | Bible Study, Parents, Preteens, Resources | Comments Off
exod

After reading The Almighty Bible: Genesis, I was pretty impressed.  Five months later, I’m still thinking about pictures from that book, and am even more impressed that it has allowed me, a seasoned Bible reader, a whole new way to connect with God’s Word.   When I finally sat down to read The Almighty Bible: Exodus, I was not disappointed.

I mean, who wouldn’t get a little wound up seeing the 10 Plagues, the first Passover, walking through the Red Sea, Moses talking with God, and a whole host of other really intense biblical accounts illustrated beautifully in the pages of this book?  I again love the fact that the verses are below each comic segment, not making the reader jump from thought bubble to thought bubble.  The pictures seem to be biblical accurate, and of course, they are pretty captivating.   At first, I didn’t think most parents would want to buy each individual book separately, in order to “collect the whole Bible”, but I be beginning to whistle a different tune.  These are so well done, they would be an excellent collection for any youngster, especially if you get other family members involved in the giving process.

There are few minor complaints with Exodus, and I mean minor.

  1. I’m still not crazy about the title “The Almighty Bible” — I think Almighty should be reserved for God.  Likewise, I’m not crazy about using the term “Yahweh” for God. I know that it historically was His proper name, but the Israelites weren’t allowed to speak it or write it, and perhaps that particular name deserves a little more
  2. The swirls of supernatural magic everywhere.  On nearly every page there are bright light swirls that symbolize God’s power or something miraculous happening.  After awhile, it got to be a bit much.  I doubt there were magical lights during the actual events, so maybe we can tone it down in the drawings as well.
  3. The wings of eagles passage in Exodus 19 was drawn literally when I’m pretty sure it was a metaphor.  Not a huge deal, but the eagle was actually carrying Moses, and kids might get the wrong impression.
Other than that, great series!  I’m excited that it’s also offered through an app.  Great for tech savvy parents!
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Daddy Dates: Book Review

By | July 5, 2011 | Elementary Age, Parents, Preteens, Resources | Comments Off
dates

For this book, my husband did the honor of reading and reviewing the book Daddy Dates by Greg Wright.  Here’s what he said:

When my wife and I started to consider kids, we were generally told that boys were great and girls were…well the only advice we got was “LOOK OUT”.  After recently having a daughter myself, I was eager to find a book that could provide some practical insights into being an effective dad.    From the start, Greg used the book Daddy Dates as an effective medium to touch on all the issues that I as a new dad started to fret over.   Girls face tremendous pressure from media, the social scene, as well as at home, and all I wanted was to be a guide through this rough passage.   Even though the idea is simple and spawned from common sense, it is often those small ideas that are overlooked while we search for the great solution.   I am grateful that I came across Daddy Dates as it has given me a new outlook on fatherhood.   It has also given me the courage to have a real and hopefully impactful relationship with my own daughter.    I recommend this book to any struggling or overwhelmed father of girls.

Pick your copy of Daddy Dates up at Amazon today!

Also, check out the official Daddy Dates website!

 

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Friday Freebie: Adventures in Odyssey

By | June 17, 2011 | Ministry Ideas: Lessons and Programs, Parents, Prayer, Preteens, Resources | Comments Off
odys

I was browsing through the latest copy of Thriving Family Magazine when I read about a great radio program for preteens about prayer.  Even better?  You can download it free — a great resource for both parents and children’s ministry workers. Here’s the description:

Do your tweens understand that prayer reflects a unique relationship between God and man?  Or do they approach prayer like ti’s simply a way to get what they want?  As your tweens mature, they may begin to appreciate the importance and privilege of talking to their Creator.  Download this complimentary episode called “When in Doubt…Pray!” to explore the deeper realities of prayer with your child.

Also, find more free episodes at Whitsendblog.org/thriving.  Each episode comes with summary and discussion questions.

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The Big Story: Babel, Abraham, Isaac

By | June 10, 2011 | Elementary Age, Ministry Ideas: Lessons and Programs, Preschoolers, Preteens | Comments Off
Flickr by Josh Liba

For our summer Wednesday night program, we’re doing a Story Time approach (check out all our summer plans here).   We will be covering the major stories in the Bible and showing how they are all one big part of God’s redeeming plan of love.  Sometimes I read out of the Read and Share Bible, sometimes the kids act out the story using the Big Action Bible Skits book, and sometimes leaders act it out for the kids.  After the story, the kids head to stations.

What are the Stations?

I’m so glad you asked!  Each night, kids can choose from between three and five stations, all of which relate to some part of the night’s story.  For our most recent night, the focus was on the Tower of Babel, Abraham, and Isaac.  Here’s the stations we had available:

  • Build a Tower of Babel out of legos, duplos, blocks, etc (I was quite surprised at how popular this was!)  Kids can work together or compete to see who can build the tallest tower.
  • Just like God had a plan for Abraham, God has a plan for us.  Kids traced each other’s bodies on a piece of butcher paper and then wrote their name inside the body frame.  For each letter of their name, they thought of a way they could serve God.  If they got stuck, they were encouraged to check a Bible dictionary or other cool Bible tool for ideas.
  • Bible Timeline: this idea I got from Ministry to Children and it fits perfectly into “The Big Story” theme.  Check out the details here. The Veggie Tales Atlapediais a huge help for piecing this together as well.
  • Coloring Station: Kids were invited to color pictures from the story using My Bible Coloring Book.  You can also find lots of free Bible coloring pages online, but you have to dig a bit!
  • We didn’t use this, but a fun idea might have been a water relay game to give the servant’s camels something to drink.  Or to measure how much a camel would drink in a sitting to see how hard Rebekah worked for a man she didn’t even know.

So, how did it go?

Our first night (Creation, Fall, Flood) was paired with the Got Bible celebration, so we didn’t get to try out stations.  However, this week, we did use the stations and it went really well.  The kids weren’t on a strict rotational schedule.  They were encouraged to spend about 10 minutes per station, but in reality they had about 30 minutes to pick and choose as they pleased.  The kids were all engaged and really seemed to enjoy the activities.  Of course, I have to let you know our numbers are always way down in the summer, so we only had about 15 kids.  This type of set up might not work for a larger group, but it seems to be perfect for us!

Stay posted for other lesson and station ideas!

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As For Me And My House: Book Review

By | May 13, 2011 | Ministry Ideas: Lessons and Programs, Parents, Preteens, Reviews | Comments Off
my and my house

Sometimes it’s tough to get family devotions (or family faith talks) started in your home, especially if your children are now in the preteen or teen age range (hang in there!).  The book, As for Me and My House-Volume 2, written by Tom and Lori Ziegler, just may be the tool you need to get a jump-start on this rewarding family tradition.

The introduction does a great job setting the stage for a productive and enjoyable time with suggestions such as:

  • Have fun!  Family devotions should not be consistently full of correction.
  • Talk as a family.  Ask your children’s opinions on topics before sharing your own opinions.
  • Let your children take turns leading the family devotions once in awhile.

Each family devotion (there are 50 in all) contains a Scripture passage to focus on (usually 5-10 verses), an objective, and activity/discussion guide, and a commitment or follow-up section.  There’s also a verse (or sometimes two) at the end of each devotional to memorize or use for further study.

Each devotional is filled with many conversation starters and discussion questions.   If families are consistent with using this book, I can see them growing closer fairly quickly.  Some of the devotionals seem a little young for teens, but parents could probably adapt the discussion questions easily.

Families will have to be very diligent about spending time in the Word when using this book.  Besides the reference to Scripture at the beginning and end of each chapter/devotional, there is little actual discussion of the Bible.  Some hardly mention the concepts in Scripture at all.  Others seem like a cursory or shallow mention of the events in the passage.  A few do a great job comparing Scriptures and drawing some important application conclusions, but not too many.

As long as families remember this book is a tool in family devotional and not a “all-in-one” product, they should be in good shape.  Make sure to read the Bible passage aloud to the family and spend some time talking about it before diving into the questions in the book in order to keep the focus on God.   With this in mind, I would recommend this book for anyone who’s just getting started with Family Faith Talks or family devotional time.    Though the book is aimed at preteens, I think it would be suitable for anyone in the ages of 8-15.  For about $12.00 your can pick up your copy on Amazon or the DPI website.

Disclosure: I received this book free of charge from DPI Publishing in exchange for a review on this blog.

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TV Free: Spring Cleaning

By | April 21, 2011 | Elementary Age, Parents, Preschoolers, Preteens | Comments Off
Flickr by mamamusings

Wow, can you believe it’s Thursday already?  Hopefully, your week has been flying by.  With Easter Egg Hunt prep and Family Fun Night all this week, I know our week certainly has blasted past.   Are you still going “screen-free” strong?

There’s been no TV for us, but our Netflix arrived in the mail this morning and Mike was begging to “take a little break from this crazy week”.  Oh boy.  Needless to say, we’re still going strong.  I do have to confess though, I watched a little TV while in the waiting room at the doctor’s today.  Oops!

What about you?  What have been your favorite activities so far?  What’s been the toughest part of being tv-free?

For today, tackle some of those long-put-off projects.  If the weather where you are is like it is here, today is the perfect day to get a few things done.  Here’s a few ideas to get your brain rolling:

  • Clean out the car, seriously.  Ours is looking beyond pitiful, with cracker crumbs and stray diapers everywhere.  Through out the trash, and give it a good vacuum.
  • Clean out the closets.  If you haven’t worn it in the last three months, admit it — you don’t like it! Just get rid of it. Pare down the kids’ clothes while you’re at it too.
  • Clean out a few drawers, whether its the kitchen “junk drawer” or a few overflowing desk drawers — you’ll be glad you did.
  • Put those photos in an album!  Let the kids pick out their favorites and make it a family project.
  • If you’re a bit more high-tech, wait till the kids are in bed and make a Picaboo album.  Right now, you can get 25% to 40% off any album. We’ve made a few, and they are beautiful!  Or buy one get one free at Seehere.
  • Clean off the grill and get the tank filled — BBQ, here we come!
  • Clean out the kid’s toys — take the extras to a shelter or thrift store.
  • Clean out the clutter.  You know the room, the corner, the space that you always avoid.  It’s usually just too much to tackle.  Take 15-30 minutes today and make a dent.
  • Wash the sheets, and the comforters.  Ah, breath that in.
  • When you’re all done, take a walk outside and enjoy the fresh air!

More Links to Check Out:

Top Cleaning Tip: Professionals Share their Secrets

Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies

Inspire Your Kids to do Chores: Expectations at different ages

Get Your Kids to do Chores with Bribes or Threats

Spring Clean Your Life

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