HARE'S EASTER PUPPET SCRIPT

I have just posted a short Easter puppet script (or interview with someone dressed as a rabbit or hare).

download file here :   HARE'S EASTER

Sweet Easter

"Sweet Easter" is a short talk about Easter for children which may told at a school assembly, a church service or shared as a family devotion.
 Link :  Sweet Easter Talk

Also check out the Easter 'pass the parcel' game on the same page above
https://www.eliab.com/sweet-easter.html

AWESOME EASTER IDEAS

Check out these awesome Easter resources for worship or children's programs-

http://sa.uca.org.au/uyp/church-resources/all-age-worship/easter-services

http://request.org.uk/restart/2016/02/03/the-easter-story-pairs-game/

http://lapbooklessons.com/ResurrectionLapbook

http://www.biblestorycartoons.com/easter-story-resources/

http://eliab.com/Puppets/The-shape-of-Easter.html

http://eliab.com/Chants/Easter-chant.html

http://eliab.com/Chants/Easter-march.html

http://eliab.com/Poems/Jellybean-prayer.html

The Lost Coin Poem

LOST COIN POEM- (Luke 15:8-10)  (c) Eliab.com

An M & M Christmas - Children's Christmas Talk

I have just finished posting a short Christmas talk (or presentation) titled " An M & M Christmas"
I gave this talk on Christmas Eve last year at  an all-age worship service.
Here's the link - An M & M Christmas

A Story to Share at Christmas

A young man was teaching in a mission school in East Africa.Before Christmas, he had been telling the local children how Christians gave each other presents as an expression of their joy at Christmas time.
   On Christmas morning, a boy around ten years old brought the teacher a seashell of great beauty. When asked where he had discovered such a magnificent shell the boy said that he had walked many kilometres to a certain bay, the only spot where such shells could be found.
  " I think it was wonderful of you to travel so far to get this lovely gift for me," the teacher exclaimed.
     His eyes brightening, the boy replied, "Long walk part of the gift."

Jesus made the long journey to earth to show us how much God loves us.
"God so love the world that he gave His only Son that whosoever believes in him will have eternal life." John 3:16

Free Christmas Resources and ideas

Check out my free Christmas resources including the story "My Christmas Pillow" at my website
Eliab.com
Christmas page

Christmas Plus

Please check out my Christmas website ChristmasPlus for many Christmas stories, reflections, Assembly ideas, Christmas jokes plus much more!
Christmasplus.blogspot.com

Sam the Snowflake Story

Sam, the snowflake

SPLAT !  SAM     the snowflake loved the wintertime. He enjoyed being rolled into a ball and thrown at someone in fun. He also loved seeing the children rolling and tumbling in the snow around him. One day as Sam was waking up, he heard some children coming towards him. They started picking up handful of cold snow and building a large snowman !! The children giggled as they put stones down the front of the snowman to make buttons and two big eyes. They also used sticks for arms and a bumpy nose. Finally they were finished and they stood back to look at what they had made. One small girl took off her hat and scarf and then she ran over and put them on the snowman. “He looks great !”, said the boy with the curly hair. Sam agreed that the snowman did look great, in fact, Sam longed to be part of that snowman but he knew that he couldn’t be a snowman without the help of lots of other snowflakes. He needed someone to come along and squeeze him into a big snow ball. He couldn’t be a snowman by himself. He was just too tiny by himself ! The children enjoyed playing until it started to get dark then the little girl went over to get her hat and coat from the the snowman’s head. As she turned to leave, she bent down quickly and scooped up a handful of snow, pressed it tightly and with a loud giggle she made a snow-hat for the snowman. What a big surprise for Sam as he now found himself right up on top of the snowman. He was so happy that he almost melted with joy ! Are there times when we feel so small that we aren’t noticed or feel important ? Who can we ask to help give us a hand at times like this ?

(C) Don Stott, 2000

Here is the Church rhyme

Baby Moses Song

Baby Moses Song

Here’s a short song about baby Moses set to the tune “In a cottage in a wood” In A HOUSE BY THE RIVER NILE

In A HOUSE BY THE RIVER NILE

Sweet Easter

• Sweet Easter

  If you ask some children what Easter is all about they will invariably reply that it is to do with chocolate or Easter Eggs. Here is a fun way to teach the true meaning of Easter to your children’s group.
  The leader enters carrying either a large box marked “chocolates” or a large decorated basket. Build some suspense as to what’s in the box etc… As you remove each item from the box or basket use the item to teach about the meaning of Easter.
  1. A bag of gold covered chocolate coins. (Jesus was betrayed by Judas for thirty pieces of silver).
  2. Chocolate Rooster. ( Peter’s three denials of Jesus before the rooster crowed).
  3. Chocolate Cross. ( Use sticks of a “Kit-Kat” bar – or equivalent, to make a cross. Ask the children to tell you why some people where crosses around their necks then tell them the the crucifixion story as appropriate to the age group listening). As a kind of competition you might like to get two or three children to come out the front and eat a small Easter egg and then make a cross out of the silver paper. ” Now hold up your crosses to show everybody. Here’s one thing you can do with the silver paper next time you eat an Easter egg as a reminder of Jesus.”
  4. Hollow plastic egg. In Australia we have a sweet called “Kinder Surprise” which has a plastic egg which opens into halves with a small toy inside. If you don’t have  something equivalent then use a medium sized Easter egg ( unwrapped) and ask someone to come and take a big bite out of it. (Tell the events of the empty tomb on Easter morning).
  5. Marshmellows or chocolate chickens or bunnies. (Jesus offers us new life and a new birth just like the baby chickens coming out of the eggs).
  6. Gold foil covered Easter egg. ( The Bible gives a picture of the streets of heaven being paved with gold. If we believe that Jesus died and came alive again we can look forward one day to spending forever with Jesus in heaven).
  Don Stott, http://eliab.com

Colours for Easter

• Colours for Easter

  An All- Age Worship Activity
  You need : Green, Red,Black, White and Yellow balloon bunches or streamers or flags.
  Call forward any of the congregation or children’s group who are wearing a green top (t-shirt, jumper, sweater…). Give them the green props and ask them to stand in a group on the far left side of your stage or up-front area. Talk about how the colour green may remind us that Jesus came… and on the way he was welcomed into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Ask the green group to practice their phrase. Continue this process with the following colours and phrases.
  “Jesus came- and suffered- and died- but came alive again- to bring new life…
  GREEN —-         RED —-   BLACK —           WHITE —              YELLOW
  Finally invite all those remaining in the congregation wearing other colours to add “for everyone” to finish the phrase. Those holding the balloons can form a rolling Mexican wave of colour as they circle the balloons in front of them as they say their phrase.

Easter Reflections

• Easter Reflect

  ions

• 1. When a tree is cut through you see the ring pattern that runs right the way up and down the trunk. Good Friday is a slice through history that allows us to see the pattern of God’s love stretching forwards and backwards to infinity.
  2. “Nails were not enough to hold God-and-man nailed and fastened to the cross, had love not held him there.” Catherine of Siena 1333-1380
  3. A father shows his young daughter a bird’s egg:
  “Use all your imagination! What do you think it will grow into? the little girl stares at the egg she cannot make up her mind whether it is beautiful or not. What might it become? She guesses. A rock? A football?
  Her father smiles and points to the sky. A sparrow flutters into the garden right near where they are sitting.  The girl is open mouthed with wonder as only an small  child can be. How could there possibly be a relationship between the simple egg in her father’s hand and the bird in flight.. How could something with wings like that come from something as ordinary as an egg?  How could her father recognise that the bird in the air was born as the egg in his hand, when the two are so different?
  She doesn’t question these things. Because her father told her, she accepts them as fact. Wondrous, yes, but true! One day she will understand the answers to all those questions, and they will seem just commonplace realities of existence. But for now, her curiosit is satisfied; she can’t understand but she can marvel.
  And so we try to understand what it will mean to have a body transformed, but recognisable, in eternal life.
  4. “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf of springtime.’ Martin Luther
  5. “Jesus has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought and beaten the King of Death. everything is different because it is so.”  C S Lewis

QUIZZES

QUIZZES with children Why include Quizzes ? * for fun! * to actively involve the children * to build group/team spirit * to help the children discover something new * to review teaching, memory verses, etc. * to encourage kids to think about their response Ask yourself ! * were the rules clear and did  I stick to them ? * am I being fair to kids with hardly any Biblical background to draw on ? * is it always the same children who get the chance to respond ? * is there a point to doing this, or it it just filling in time ? * is there enough variety in the questions -are they all just factual      or do some demand a more thoughtful response (HOW,WHY,WHAT IF..) * is the team competition fun or is it getting out of hand ? Team Competitions (some of these can be scored individually,rather than on a team basis) 1. Noughts and Crosses Two teams compete against each other, each placing a “0” or an “X” on the grid whenever one of their team members answers a question correctly. Variations: (a) each section of the grid is labelled with a category or picture.

(b) Human Noughts & Crosses -place people on the spaces representing the “0”’s and “X”s teams 2.Sponge Ball Quiz Whenever a team member answers a question correctly, they throw a wet sponge-ball at the board. the number that is hit, becomes the score for that answer.

3.Pick-a Box You’ll need 10 boxes or envelopes,each containing a prize (eg sweet,sticker..),and a score-card(from +5  to  -4 ). When a correct answer is given, the child chooses a box, keeps the prize for him/herself and the score is added to his team’s score. 4.Throw-a-Dice Teams answer questions from a list,then throw the dice to obtain the score for each correct response. 5.True/False Two children, one from each team,stand facing each other in the centre. At one end is a chair labelled “TRUE” ; at eh other end, a chair labelled “FALSE”.  A statement is made, eg “Noah was an Egyptian slave.” The first child to sit on the correct “chair, scores a point for his team. Variation: label the chairs “OLD TESTAMENT” or “NEW TESTAMENT”. Mention an incident or character from the Bible and contestants have to decide which part of the Bible it would be found in. 7.Burst-a-Balloon Questions are placed inside inflated balloons.Scores are on the back of the question paper. The child has to burst the balloon, and then ask his team the question. 8. Crackerjack quiz Two teams. One person from each team comes out the front . Questions are asked and each time A gets a question right, a cardboard box is put on team B’s pile which the contestants have to hold in their arms. When a pile falls the other team wins. WHOLE GROUP COMPETITIONS 9. Jelly Bean Quiz The leader begins with a packet of jelly beans which he/she explains are to be distributed amongst the children at the end of the quiz. The only hitch is that whenever a question is answered incorrectly, one of the leaders gets to eat a jelly bean. Begin with a couple of difficult questions (so that children start to think they may never get to taste a jellybean), and make a great show of how delicious the lollies are ! 10. Knee-Jerk Quiz Retell a story, making deliberate errors as you go. Everytime the children pick up a mistake, they kick out their legs in a “knee-jerk” reaction. (careful not to kick anybody).. Continue once the correct answer has been given. 11. Beat-the clock Teh whole group tries to answer 20 questions (put of 30 possible) in 4 minutes. If they succeed, the leaders have to pay a forfeit. If they fail, the group has to pay a forfeit (like stand on one leg for 3 minutes). 12. Reaction Quiz A good quiz to encourage kids to think about their responses. When a statement is made, the children move across the room according to whether they agree, eg “Being good at sport is better than being good at schoolwork”, “Being a Christian is easy”, “The Bible is hard to read”.

Simplified Lord's Prayer

Simplified Lord’s Prayer

The children may stand and face the front and then join in the words and actions-

When I touch my head, I think of you, Father God.
When I put my hand over my heart, I remember to show you my love.
When I put my hands together, I ask you to come and make everything right.
When I touch my mouth, I ask you to give us the food we need.
When I bow my head, I say sorry for the wrong things I’ve done.
When I lift my head, I know you forgive me.
When I open my arms, I ask you to help me be friends with everyone.

When we say this prayer, we are asking God for things we need and he is pleased

Top Tips on Learning with Children

Top Tips on Learning with Children

1. Get passionate about the Bible yourself.

2. Explore the Bible as one big story that has many little stories included in it.

3. Arouse children’s curiosity in our mysterious, awesome and complex God.

4. Avoid trying to feed children simple, ‘pat’ answers about God.

5. Choose a range of activities that use different intelligences.

6. Organise a variety of activities, but make sure they all point in the same direction to the same truth.

7. Use learning dynamics other than just the leader or teacher talking to a group.

8. Encourage children to ask their honest questions of God.

Heads Down Game

Heads Down Game

Four children are chosen to come and stand out the front of the group. All the other children are asked to “put their heads down and hold their thumbs up”. The four children then quietly move amongst those on the floor or chairs and each one touches gently one thumb which is raised. They then return to the front. The leader then tells the children to open their eyes. “Those children who think they have had their thumbs touched put their hands up. They then get one guess at who they think was the person out the front who touched them. Wait till all four have guessed and then tell them if they were correct. If someone guesses correctly then they get to take the person out the front spot. Play as many rounds as time allows. It’s often better to stop while enjoyment is high and then you can always come back to it later.

Sticky pairs- warm up game

Sticky pairs- warm up game

You can use this very flexible game to introduce your teaching/Bible theme for the day.

Devise matching pairs of words related to your theme for the day and write them on individual sticky labels which can be stuck to children’s backs. For example, for a discussion on attitudes and behaviour you could choose the words good/bad; love/hate; generous/selfish etc. First show children the word, then stick them on their backs, then challenge them to find their opposite or matching pair by looking at the words on the other children’s backs, without talking. When the children are all paired off gather them and talk about each pair of words as it relates to your theme.

Tree Prayers

Tree Prayers

Attach a tree cutout to a wall easily accessible to the congregation. Put one name on a leaf for every child in your children’s ministry. Encourage adults to take a leaf with a child’s name on it and use as a prayer reminder in their devotion times. Every time they see the tree or leaves it is a reminder to pray for that child. Some adults may take it a step further by sending encouragement notes, calls or gifts to the children they have chosen.