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Sing a Song of Symbols
Help your children make a rebus
of their favorite song. (A
rebus is a form of writing that
substitutes pictures and symbols
for key words.) Look for key
words in the song that can be
illustrated. Print the resto of
the words on a poster board,
leaving space for the key word
pictures and symbols. Add
illustrations drawn by the
children and sing the
illustrated song vigorously!
Click here for a Free Preview of
one of our Children's tracts
using this fun method...
Seldom is Heard an Encouraging
Word
Elementary school age is an age
of teasing, criticism, and
nicknames. Your students need
positive feedback to balance the
barrage of negativism they
receive. Make an effort to
compliment each of them about
something in each class
session. Provide plenty of
opportunities for them to
enhance their self-esteem.
Bounce this Idea Around
Think of your words as tennis
balls. Every idea or lesson
point is one ball. When you
teach using the lecture method,
you are tossing several balls to
the children and expecting them
to catch and hold on to all of
them. (How many balls do you
think the children can handle
before they start dropping some
of them?) When you teach using
a question/answer method, you
toss out a ball (your question)
and ask a child to hold it and
then toss back a ball of his own
(a stab at an answer). Is your
teaching a singles match between
you and one other child, or do
you see that everyone gets a
chance to handle the ball? When
you use group discussion, you
toss out a ball and ask a child
to toss it to another child,then
to another and to another. How
many balls can your children
juggle at one time? By thinking
of your words as tennis balls,
you can visualize what you are
expecting the children to do
with the concepts you toss their
way.
A
Mile of Nickels
One way to increase interest in
you missions offering would be
to have all offerings given in
nickels. Tape the nickels side
by side on a heavy gift
wrap ribbon. As you complete
one roll of ribbon, safety pin
another roll to it. For every
foot of nickels you collect, you
will have 70 cents; for every
yard, you will have $2.10. If
your ribbon stretches to the
mile mark, you will have
collected $3,696.00 and your
ribbon will weigh
approximately 925 pounds!
Memory Verse Chain
Challenge your students to
memorize as many Bible verses as
they can in one month. As each
child says says his verse to
you, add a link to a paper chain
with the student's name and the
memory verse reference written
on it. This is something
everyone can contribute to, even
it it is just one link. At the
end of the month, present the
chain to the church and request
that it be displayed in a
promintent place with a sign
indicating that the chain
represents the Bible verses
memorized by your class in one
month.
Making a Difference
Children this age are beginning
to realize that their activities
and beliefs can make a differnce
in their lives and in their
world. They are anxious to use
their abilities in beneficial
ways. They need projects that
show them they can
make significant contributions
at home, school, church, and
play. Involve them in church
workdays and other community
outreach programs.
Good Grafitti Corner
Post a large sheet of newsprint
or butcher paper in a prominent
place. Inform your students
that this is a "good grafitti"
wall, a place where they can jot
down their thoughts and
feelings, messages to friends,
etc. A "good grafitti" wall is
a great ice-breaker. It gets
studens involved and encourages
interaction and communication.
Keep the good graffiti wall up
for several weeks. Some
students will come early or stay
late just to put something on
the wall.
Four Letter Word Day
Announce that you are going to
have a "Four letter word day."
Make a list on a chalkboard,
whiteboard, or poster of
four-letter words that will not
be allowed on that day: words
like fail, zero, can't, and
similar negative connotation
words. Also list four letter
words that will be rewarded:
able, kind, love and similar
postive connotation words. On
Four Letter Word Day give each
person ten tokens (tickets,
slips of paper, etc.). Every
time someone gives a compliment,
using one of the good four
letter words on the list, the
person complimented must give
him or her a token. Every time
a person uses a forbidden four
letter word, he or she must
surrender a token to the
teacher. The prson who has the
most tokens by the end of the
session gets a prize.
Reinforcing Positive Qualities
Now that your students have
started to get to know each
other, give them a chance to
reinforce the positive qualities
they've noticed in each other.
Divide you middlers into 2-3
groups. Hand out a pen and a
large index card to each
person. Have each student write
his name at the top of his
card. At your signal, have the
students pass their cards to the
person on their right and wirte
a compliment or positive comment
on the card they are then
holding. After a minute, have
everyone pass the cards to the
right again, utnil everyone has
written on each group member's
card. Collect the cards and
write a complement adn Scripture
verse on each one. If you wish,
laminate the cards before
returning them to the student to
use as Bible bookmarks. |
