Hello again! As unbelievable as it is every year, now that our fall programs and events are (barely) underway, it's time to get Christmas together. Are you ready?

Thank you, Tarra, for sending in the following information about an easy-to-do bell choir for children. This is a very nice alternative to a traditional pageant; it is simple enough for children and yet sounds both beautiful and "Christmas-y". An extra bonus: it can be used any time of year, for other holidays, Sunday specials, outreach performances, etc. Here are Tarra's words:

"This year since we have decided to do a Christmas program with colored handbells. I hold up the note letter/color and those children holding that bell will ring until I flip the card. I have included a couple of websites for the product.

This year I will see how it is received by the kids and audience and have the option to add on additional bells. For this year I will alternate children between songs. These handbells look so simple that I am going to have our preschoolers join in.

I plan to purchase aditional music later and be able to have year around musical specials.

http://www.gph.org/handbells/
http://www.kidsplaymusic.org/id13.html
and of course be sure to seartch amazon.com

God bless you."

Again, thank you for the great idea! If there are other ideas/tips out there, big or small, please send them my way. As spread out as we all are geographically, it is still good for us to collaborate together in Christ.

May you all be blessed as you minister for our Lord.

Hello again! I must apologize that it has been so long since I've updated this site. As is true for all of you as well, I am sure, I have been busy! I have been meaning to put these couple of ideas online for a while, but just didn't get it done. So, there is my lame excuse. Here are my quick ideas.


Those who do a Vacation Bible School usually raise money for some kind of mission project. At our church we donate to the Nazarene VBS project for the year; this year it is for children's Quizzing materials on the mission field. To help create excitement and motivate the children (and the leaders!) to bring offering, we come up with some kind of contest. These contests work very well when they are set as boys vs. girls; even the leaders get involved this way. We come up with 2 displays to keep track of the amounts brought in by each team. Last year we had gas tanks to match our "Custom Garage" theme; this year we had canteens to fill with water (or water balloons, see below) to match Quizzing's theme.



Contest 1: You need two adult leaders, one male and one female, who are incredibly good sports. Leaders who are visible in the church work especially well(such as the pastor and his/her spouse, or the VBS director and spouse, or other volunteer). These each lead one of the teams, boys or girls, depending on gender. If they are the type that can "ham it up" it will make all the difference! All week the kids bring in offering, usually during the VBS opening. The winner for the day is announced in the VBS closing, if you have one.

At the end of the week, whichever team is ahead gets to (are you ready?!) put a pie in the face of the other team's leader. !!!!!!! This is very exciting for the kids and even for the adults. I will caution you, however, if you are one of the good-hearted volunteers who are leading one of the teams. Don't be too confident! No matter how far ahead your team is, there is a good chance that somehow your teams will tie, to the penny, on the very last day--and somehow your volunteers will be prepared ahead of time with a second pie!

A couple of Important Notes:

We used aluminum pie plates filled with whipped cream for our pies. As long as you stay with cream pies, you should be OK. We also covered our volunteers with a garbage bag, cutting out a space for thier head to stick through.

This is important! Be sure to instruct whichever child (or teen/adult) that has the honor of pie-ing the other team's leader in the practice of proper pie-ing. First, if you have them throw it, they will probably miss (what a downer!). The next thing to know is that they start at the chin, and carefully, gently moosh the pie onto the rest of the face. People tend to get excited and energetic when they push a pie into another's face, which can result in injured noses if caution is not taken. Thankfully, my husband, who is an ex-youth pastor, was well versed in the art of "pie-ing" before my turn came up!

Contest 2: Again, divide the kids into two teams. And again, if your groups are about even, it's hard to beat boys vs. girls. For every 50 cents each team raises (or whatever amount you choose), they earn 1 water balloon. At the end of the last day, they collect all of the balloons earned and have one gi-normous water balloon fight. It's nice if there is a team leader for each team, but not essential as in the last contest. If there is a leader who can build excitement with the kids throughout the week, however, that is a real plus.

A couple of Important Notes:

Start filling the water balloons at least a day before, and have some "muscles" around to carry them. This will take time and yes, strength!

This is important! Be sure that the teams are situated close enough that they can throw the balloons to the other team, but not so close that they can injure each other with the balloons. In the same vein, we allowed our teen/adult volunteers to be hit with the balloons, but not to throw the balloons. It is easy to get carried away. We also positioned the younger kids across from the younger kids and the older across from the older.

If anyone was seen to be aiming for someone's head/face, they were pulled from the game. As the kids were warned of this before beginning, it wasn't an issue.

We were safety-consious, and our kids had a fantastic time! I hope you have a chance to do the same!

Fall 2008--Harvest Party Ideas

Phew! We’ve made it through summer, and hopefully have things in full swing for fall and the school year. When we gathered together at District Assembly, several of you shared that you put on a fall Harvest Party for your church/community.

If you’re not already in midst of planning, here are some ideas for making this a Bible-themed event. Encourage people to dress up as Bible characters and plan for each game/activity to be related to a Bible story or verse. Make posters with pictures and a summary of the story or verse nearby each game. Here are some examples:

*Walls of Jericho (Ball Toss)
*Fishers of Men (Fishing Pond)
*Potter’s Shop (Clay Crafts)
*Lion’s Den (Table games or games such as foose-ball, pool, pop-a-shot, etc.)
*Noah’s Ark (Cake Walk—decorate with animals)
*Jonah & the Whale (Dunk Tank)
*Fruits of the Spirit (Hang apples from the ceiling and race to see can eat theirs the fastest—hands-free!)
*New Man (Face Painting)
*David & Goliath (Bean Bag Toss—use a tall piece of cardboard or wood to paint on your Goliath, with holes to toss bean bags through)
*Get creative and come up with some of your own ideas!

Here are a couple of ideas to help adults & teens enjoy the party, in one word: food! Host a chili cook-off, complete with different categories, judges and prizes. Be sure to have lots of juice and cornbread to go along. An idea teens will love? Rent a Karaoke machine for the evening (or borrow one from a preteen girl!), set up a stage, and let everyone go!

Feeling overwhelmed with so much to do? The key here is delegation: put a different class or family in charge of each game, someone else for the food, and be sure to have a set-up and clean-up crew. I know this is easier said than done, but once everyone is involved, it’s sure to spread excitement, which is the key to a great party! Have fun!

(Note: I hate to say it, but if you haven’t begun Christmas planning, now is the time. Get any events on the calendar, and if you want to do a Sunday school program, now is the time to begin practicing with the kids!)

Do you do something special or unique with the kids of your church for Christmas? If so, please email me your ideas to share with others around the district. Let’s remember to keep each other in our prayers. God Bless!

Summer Time!

Thank you everyone who was able to come to our Children’s Workers Luncheon at Assembly. It was great to meet you and get to hear your ideas and needs. Thank you for your honesty in sharing; although we are separated, we are not alone in ministry!

Several of you had some great ideas for summer:

To add flair to your midweek program:

* “Hot Summer Nights” – use a special emphasis each Wednesday night through the summer, such as “Crazy Hat Night”, “Swinging Good Time at the Park”, “Cowboy Night,” and so on.
-Tarra Schaffer, Ketchikan

Fun Ideas for your church:

* Hold family BBQ’s, picnics, go camping, go tide-pooling.
-Becky Luther, Kodiak

Outreach Ideas and Events:

* Participate in parades.
-Dawn Paulson, Palmer

*Host a sports camp or show the Children’s Jesus Film in the park. Also, get involved in events in the community, such as fairs and conventions.
-Becky Luther, Kodiak

Let’s remember to pray for each other, as we minister for His Kingdom!

District Assembly Luncheon-You're Invited!

Dear Children’s Leaders & Sunday School Superintendants,

You are invited to attend a luncheon for those who work with children in our Alaska churches during District Assembly. This will be a time for us to get to know each other on the district, to share ideas, and to pray for and encourage one another.


Children’s Leaders Luncheon
Wednesday, May 28th
Noon-1:00 p.m.
Cost: $10
Location: Fireside Room


Please plan to attend and bring with you your ideas, thoughts and prayer requests. Please especially think of special events/outreach events your church does, either for your local church or for the community. I look forward to seeing you there!

Easter Outreach Event

Here is a new twist on the traditional egg hunt. This event includes all ages of children (even babies are welcome, with parent’s help) and eliminates the possibility of a few children ending up with most of the eggs, leaving the other children with few or none. The “hunt” for the younger children is designed to be non-competitive, while the older children compete in groups, promoting teamwork. All children should come away with a basket full of prizes!

We hold our event the Saturday morning before Easter and then send families home with an invitation to return for church the next morning. Every little detail is included below!



Adults/Teens needed: 1 to lead the toddlers-2nd grade game
1 to lead the craft
1 to lead the 3rd-6th grade game
Several to set up, decorate, and clean up
Several to hide eggs and monitor outdoor hunt

Before the event (in no particular order):

*Put an announcement in the bulletin & newsletter asking people to donate prize-filled eggs. Put out a basket and sign to collect the eggs in. (Prepare for the eggs to take up a lot of room—I cover a laundry basket or large box with spring-colored wrapping paper.)
*Purchase enough plastic eggs and prizes to supply ½ of the toddlers—2nd grade eggs. Stuff the eggs (a good job for volunteers).
*Purchase enough plastic eggs for the 3rd—6th grades (50 eggs for each team—each team needs a different color of egg—5 or 6 teams total.)
*Purchase enough candy and prizes to fill 5 large baskets for the 3rd—6th grades.
*Fill baskets fore the 3-6th graders with equal amounts of candy and prizes. Have one basket contain a few more prizes than the others, designate with a ribbon, or use a larger basket.
*Have several extra Easter baskets or bags available for those in both age groups who may have forgotten to bring them.
*Determine how to advertise to community. Consider the radio, newspaper, and flyers in places like local businesses, grocery store community boards, public health, etc.
*A good advertising option: hang a banner announcing the event outside your church several weeks ahead. Customized banners are available at outreach.com. A much less expensive option is to create your own.
*Tip: Oriental Trading (oriental.com) has inexpensive eggs, prizes, baskets, plastic Easter bags, decorations, and even large outdoor banners that you paint yourself.
*If your budget is small, consider having the church donate all supplies.

Be sure to have enough eggs and prizes!

Toddlers—2nd Grade

1. Create a large rectangle on the ground using colored masking tape, string, or yarn. Make sure string or yarn is close enough to the ground that children won’t trip over it. Fill the rectangle with plastic eggs that are filled with small prizes (Just lay them out on the floor evenly across the rectangle, although it’s a good idea to leave a border of a foot or two that contains no eggs around the edge. Otherwise children who stand outside the rectangle will grab eggs before it’s time!)

2. If your area is large and/or crowded, set up a sound system with at least one mic.

3. When it’s time to begin have children (with their parents) gather on the outside of the Egg Hunt rectangle—be sure they stay on the outside of the line.

4. Have the leader announce an animal and demonstrate how that animal walks (sounds are also encouraged!) and then allow the children to walk like that animal into the rectangle, pick up an egg and then walk like the animal back out. Repeat the process with a different animal, this time allowing children to pick up 2 eggs. Continue until most of the eggs are gone. I like to use springtime animals, like bunnies, chicks, ducklings, butterflies, etc.

Leader tip: have a bunch of animals in mind before you begin—it’s amazing how difficult they are to think of on the spot, once you’ve used up the “obvious” ones!

Leader tip: Save the “leftover” eggs for the one or two children who will inevitably show up too late for the game. It’s also a good idea to have some extra eggs set aside for this purpose.

5. The younger group usually finishes before the older group, so I usually have a simple Easter craft planned. This is a good job for a volunteer who is “crafty” and likes to help, but doesn’t want to teach.

6. While the children are doing their crafts, have the leader (or the pastor) go around to each family, meet them, and give them invitations to your Easter service the next day. Be sure the invitations have all the necessary info on them.

3rd—6th Grades

1. Be sure that prize baskets are ready. Have one basket for each team, filled with equal amounts of candy and prizes. The exception: have one basket slightly larger and filled with a few more “goodies”.

2. Hide all the eggs (50 of each color, one color for each team). I hide eggs outside because of space issues, although children often end up hunting in the slush of an Alaskan spring.

3. Divide kids into 5 equal color teams (i.e. the green team, the purple team, the orange team, the yellow team, and the blue team. Team colors should match the colors of eggs that are hidden.) Explain clearly the boundaries that children are allowed to look in; be sure that boundaries are set sufficiently back from streets, lakes, etc.

4. Have kids search for their team’s color of eggs.

5. It is against the rules to throw, hide, or otherwise disturb another team’s eggs—kids found doing so are disqualified from the hunt!

6. Baskets: The first team back with all 50 eggs wins the basket with the ribbon on it—this basket has more prizes than the others. As teams come in with their eggs, allow them to pick from the other baskets (they all have exactly the same things in them w/ the exception of the ribboned basket). Give teams time to divide the prizes.

7. Encourage kids to work with their teams to find eggs and to divide their prize baskets! (Teams allowed to work on their own, without an adult or teen assigned to their team, will experience more teamwork, practice more leadership skills, and feel greater investment in the outcome—including the success of finding all the eggs and earning their basket.)


8. Hand out invitations to the Easter service for tomorrow. Meet and personally invite as many parents/families as you can!

Tip: save baskets for re-use next year. Only save eggs if you have extra storage space—they are cheap and take up a lot of room.

Note: If you would like the simple documents that I use (signs, invitations, etc.) contact me at vjeanthomas at hotmail dot com. (I have this spelled out to avoid phishers/spammers.) I would be happy to share.

Have a fun and successful event!

Valentine's Day

Here is an easy seasonal party; I usually call it a "God is Love" party. This can be used either as something to spice up an ongoing program (such as one night of a midweek program), as a separate "event", or as a fun--and beneficial--way to provide childcare for a "parents night out."

Before the Party:

1. Advertise to the children and parents of your church the date and time of the party, and that each child needs to bring 5 heart shaped sugar cookies. (Be sure to have extras on hand for those who forget.)

2. Prepare colored frosting, small candies, plates, knives (or other "frosting spreaders"), napkins, wet wipes (if a sink isn't available), plastic baggies (for take-home cookies) and child-friendly drinks.

3. Rent or borrow a movie with a "love" theme--this works especially well if it's a "Father's Love" theme, such as Finding Nemo, or a Christian based movie, such as Veggie Tales' Love Your Neighbor. Be sure to consider how much time you will have at your party when choosing what to watch! (If you do this party every year, all you have to do is choose a different movie--everything else can stay just the same.)

4. Decorate! Large cut out hearts with red, pink, and white balloons and streamers taped up are more than sufficient. Tip: if class time allows, have children decorate during thier previous gathering (Sunday school, midweek program, etc.) This helps build both excitement for and "ownership" of the party.

During the party:

1. Begin with games; either plan some ahead or let children choose thier favorites (they always have ideas!)

2. Decorate cookies. If you don't have room for everyone to decorate at the same time, divide into groups: while one group decorates, the other group(s) can play games.

3. Watch the movie. Allow children to eat at least one cookie during "show time" and save the rest to take home. Option: have children give a cookie away as a way to share God's love with others.

4. Make the connection: if the movie you chose wasn't specifically Christian, explain what it was that made you choose it (for example: it was a movie about a father's love, just as our heavenly Father loves us.) This would be a good time for a short discussion about God's love, connect it as much as possible to the rest of the evening (for example: What did the father in the movie do to show his love to his child? What does our heavenly Father do to show his love to us? How can we share His love with others?)

Have fun!