All posts tagged Preteens

Peril in the Palace and Revenge of the Red Knight: Book Reviews

By | August 15, 2011 | Reviews | 7 Comments
peril-in-the-palace1

I just finished reading books 3 and 4 in the Imagination Station series (Adventures in Odyssey).  Following the pattern of both Voyage with the Vikings (#1) and Attack in the Arena (#2), these two books were well-written, value-driven, and great for preteens.

In Peril in the Palace (book #3), the cousins Patrick and Beth are transported via the Imagination Station to China during Kublai Khan’s reign.  During their time there, they meet some famous travelers and engage in their share of danger, just like in the previous two books.  The authors fill the book with just enough suspense to keep the pages turning without being scary for young readers.  Beth and Patrick both show bravery in doing what’s right and standing up for what they believe in.  I thought it was interesting to introduce Mongol shamans and to expose their magic tricks for what they really were. However, I wonder if the book is making the matter of witchcraft and spells a little too harmless-looking.  In a time where the Wicca religion is rapidly growing, perhaps preteens need a stern warning about steering clear of this evil practice.

The length of the books is perfect for readers in the 6-10 range — providing lots of details and a rapid-pace plot.  I think both guys and girls would enjoy this series.  I was a little disappointed that book #3 ended in a “To Be Continued…” — seemed a little gimmicky to me, especially when book #4 didn’t seem to really live up to the hype Peril in the Palace seemed to promise.

In Revenge of the Red Knight (#4), the cousins find themselves in a cave after jumping in the Imagination Station, hoping to head back to Whit’s End.  Many of the mysteries from the first three books begin to work themselves loose as new details come to light in this book.  New mysteries emerge though with the discovery of a secret room and with the meeting of new characters.  Speaking of new characters, this book seemed to have a few too many characters to keep track of.  Between the knights, knaves, lords, ladies, and squires — it was hard to remember who was on what side (of course, this could be due to the fact that I’ve only been getting three hours of sleep with the additional of our new little one!).

This book was filled with it’s share of danger and suspense as well, though I don’t think it was as well written as the previous three books.  It didn’t seem to be as much as a page-turner as I was used to experiencing with the other books in this series.  Nonetheless, it certainly was worth the read and I would recommend it to any preteen or parent of preteen.  For under $5, it’s certainly worth buying for your kids!  Pick up your copy of Revenge of the Red Knight or Peril in the Palace today!

Want to to experience the books for yourself?  Leave a comment, telling me where you’d like to visit using the imagination station.  Contest will end Saturday, August 27th.  Sorry, we can only ship to USA residents.  Want more chances to win?  Leave a separate comment for each option you choose to do:

  1. Like “Growing Kids Ministry” on facebook
  2. Follow me (#lrwhitney) on twitter
  3. Like Tyndale House Publishers on facebook
  4. Retweet this contest using the button at the top of the post

Disclaimer: Tyndale House Publishers has provided you with a complimentary copy of these books.  The opinions expressed are my own.

What Bible is Best for my Child?

By | May 18, 2011 | Bible Study, Parents, Resources, Reviews, Spiritual Milestones | 1 Comment
Flickr by airgap

Parents often want to know which Bible is the best to get for their children.  The short answer is, whatever one they will read!   Feel free to try out a few.  It’s worth the investment.  Here are some of my personal favorites:

I recommend an easy to read translation Bible for your kids.  That’s top priority.  If it has some cool Bible tools in it such as devotionals, index, maps, etc – that’s a bonus.  Some easy to read translations include: NIV (New International Version), CEV (Contempary English Version), and TNIV (Today’s New International Version).    I would steer clear of “paraphrase” Bibles as your main Bible since it’s not a direct translation.  Paraphrase translations include NLT (New Living Translation) and the Message.

Cool Bible Tools: What’s that all about?

We’ve been learning about a lot of cool Bible tools in Kids for Christ.  The main ones are:

  • Atlases
  • Bible Translations
  • Concordances
  • Dictionaries

There are lots of cool Bible tools out there, many of which are now being made just for kids! Here are some of my favorites:

Most of these can be found on Amazon.  Be sure to leave a comment if you’ve found a great Bible or Bible tool!

 

Make a Prayer Mural

By | April 27, 2011 | Prayer, Spiritual Milestones | 2 Comments
Flickr by kk+

Prayer Mural: A Hands-on Approach to Get Kids Engaged in Prayer

Recently I read, “Children tend to be egocentric in their prayers, but not selfish.  Egocentric means their world is small.  Their prayers are limited to pets, family, and friends.  It is our job to enlarge their world and also mentor children how to pray.  Without this coaching, the prayers of children remain the typical bedtime prayers that never change until eventually, the desire itself to pray is lost” (Hohman, Kids Making a Difference).

How do we expand the prayer list of the children in our ministries?  By putting ideas in their hands, literally.   One way to do this is through prayer cards.  Another way is with a prayer mural.  Here’s how to create one:

  1. Encourage parents and congregation members to save their magazines and newspapers for about a month.
  2. Browse through magazines as a small group, discussing things the pictures might represent.    Missions magazines might be especially helpful for this (you can get a free subscription to Alliance Life here).
  3. Additionally, you might  want to draft up a list of prayer ideas such as military personal, national leaders, healthy food for kids, quality time for families, safety for missionaries, housing for the homeless, etc and have kids find matching pictures in magazines.
  4. Look over the headlines in the newspaper and cut out ones the kids can pray about.
  5. Take some pictures of the leaders in your church, such as the pastor, children’s ministry director, music director, etc and add it to the collection.
  6. When you have enough pictures gathered up, glue them to a giant sheet of butcher or mural paper.   Make sure to label each picture with an appropriate prayer request.
  7. During prayer time, have kids walk along the prayer mural, touching each picture and praying for the request that accompanies it.  Kids can take turns praying, pray silently, or whatever is appropriate for your group.
  8. As the weeks progress, you can add more prayer requests to the mural or add praises to it as well.  If your church has a congregational prayer request list (for weekly prayer meeting), be sure to add some of those requests as well.
  9. If your mural is looking a little sparse, browse through Scripture for ideas.  Some key passages might include Matthew 6, James 1:5, Philippians 4:6 or whatever you are currently studying in your ministry.

Above all, keep practicing prayer, no matter what method you use.  The more you practice, the more it will become a habit for both the kids and the volunteers in your ministry.  What method have you found especially effective in engaging kids in prayer?

 

Great Family Resources

By | April 6, 2011 | Elementary Age, Parents, Preschoolers, Preteens, Resources | Comments Off
family_bible_study

Here’s some great sites for parents and families!

MEDIA:

RELATIONSHIPS:

FAMILY FAITH TALKS:

BOOKS:

ESPECIALLY FOR PRETEENS:

Add to the List!

Do you know of a great resource?  Leave me a comment and I’ll add it to the list!
Thanks for stopping by!

Voyage with the Vikings: Book Review

By | February 24, 2011 | Preteens, Reviews | Comments Off
vikings

Peril.  Suspense.  Intrigue, and of course imagination! In the first book of this Adventures in Odyssey series, authors Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker capture the reader’s attention immediately.  If you’re looking for a book series for your preteen (especially boys!), this may be the ticket.

In this high-seas adventure, cousins Beth and Patrick visit Whit’s End on an ordinary Monday.  The day soon develops into an extraordinary experience as the kids take a ride in the Imagination Station in order to find a Viking Sunstone and to help save Whit’s friend, Albert.

The cousins encounter a few fierce Vikings, a few kind-hearted ones and some interesting sights and sounds.   They learn the value of friendship, forgiveness, and the art of making tough decisions.   They see how becoming a Christian can transform a person’s life and they learn how helping others sometimes requires sacrifice.  This book provides great talking points for preteens and their parents.  I would recommend it to anyone who  has a love for adventure!

Pre-order your copy of Voyage with the Vikings today for only $4.99!

Other Book Review Resources:

Fiction Addict

Thriving Family

Digging Deeper

By | January 13, 2011 | Preteens, Spiritual Milestones | 1 Comment
Flickr by Giandomenico Ricci

For our Wednesday night Kids for Christ group, I am a small group leader of the aged 9-11 girls. The girls have journals with questions in them about the night’s lesson. The questions are designed to help them think about key elements and then to apply the lesson to life.

Usually, the girls race through the questions and then goof off the rest of the time. This week, however I decided to challenge the girls a bit. We were talking about how to be salt and light for Christ. They were asked to write three ways they could do this. Without exception the girls all wrote things like “Be nice. Be sweet. Be cool”.

Pretty shallow answers if you asked me.

I tried to dig deeper. I asked what they could do to make a difference for Christ. One girl suggested helping her mom with the dishes. While this is of course, a good answer, being the salt and light means being a witness to those who don’t know Christ. After a brief silence, one of the girls talked about some classmates that watched things she didn’t think were appropriate. We talked about how we could make a difference in this situation.

Then, we talked about what to do if members of your family members want to watch something that you don’t feel comfortable watching. I was surprised at how concerned the girls were about this. They were really wrestling with how to do the right thing, without sticking out like a sore thumb.

We role-played some things they could say to their cousins in that situation.  We talked about the slow decline of standards: how when we start to watch something that “isn’t so bad”, suddenly things that are pretty bad begin to look “not so bad”, and so on.

One girl confessed…”Yeah, it’s like that when I listen to the radio. At first, the swearing really bothered me, but now I don’t even hear it.” It was amazing. Based on some of their previous answers, I was beginning to doubt these girls were capable of thinking that much into things, but here we were!

I was so grateful that God provided that opportunity. I believe the girls are really starting to challenge themselves and wrestle with what it means to be a true Christian. In our ministry, we call this a Vision Moment because we saw our vision for the ministry come to life that night. I hope many more will come in the near future.

Resources to Check Out:

I Want to Talk to My Teen About Movies, Music (I Want to Talk with My Teen about)

Youth Culture 101 (Youth Specialties)

Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews and Christian Truth

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