Praise necklace

/in /by

Make a “Psalm 148 praise necklace” with your kids. Begin by reading Psalm 148 and asking your children to identify any aspect of nature listed in the Psalm that brings praise to God. Each time they suggest something, have your children choose a coloured bead to represent that thing from nature that brings praise to God.

For example, you might use blue beads for the sky, green beads for hills, brown for furry wild animals, yellow or gold for the sun, moon and stars, white for the clouds that bring rain, clear for the water in mountain streams, gray for stormy winds, and multi-coloured beads for fruit trees. When your children wear their handiwork, it will help them remember to thank God for His!

Homemade cards

/in /by

Purchase some cardstock with matching envelopes and work with your children to make a supply of handcrafted thank-you cards for use in the future, as the need arises.

If you need an idea to get started, you might like to decorate your cards with some of the phrases from the hands-on option Fun ways to say thank you. Print out your thank-you phrases in a variety of different languages and colours, then glue them on the cover of your card. Inside, write the caption “Many, many thank yous!”

Whenever you finish an enrolled session, be it a team sport, swimming lessons, music lessons or a school term, have your child take a thank-you card to the teacher or coach.

Truth champions

/in /by

“Champion” truth in your home by honouring truth-telling. First, read about the armour of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Then help your children make a belt of truth they can each wear. To make the belt, simply cover a cardboard strip, or an existing belt, with tinfoil and/or duct tape.

Talk about how speaking the truth wins the battle for Jesus, who is Truth, rather than Satan, who is the father of lies (John 14:6, John 8:44). Emphasize that when we tell the truth, we show we are on God’s team, not Satan’s.

Relevant Scripture

Ephesians 6:10-18.

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ ”

John 8:44 “[Jesus said] ‘You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.’ ”

Celebrate the joy of Christmas

/in , , , , /by

The purpose of Christmas is to remember Jesus’ birth, so why not celebrate it outside the traditional season? Most children love Christmas and would not object to some Christmas festivities being added to the family schedule any time of year! The ideas provided here focus on the joy surrounding the birth of Jesus and on the enjoyment found in giving. Whichever activity you choose, you can use the discussion questions and related Bible verses to highlight the “Christmas-Jesus-Joy” connection.

Serving others

Organize a stocking stuffing event as a way to have family members bless each other with non-material blessings. Have each family member hang a mini-stocking. Put each person’s picture on their stocking, then have each family member write a note or draw a picture for every other family member, telling or displaying something they appreciate about them. Encourage your kids to be creative and provide assistance as needed. When you open the stockings, do so one person at a time, allowing time for each person to share what the other family members have written or drawn. To make the occasion even sweeter, you may want to hand out candy canes (or flavoured hard candy sticks) to savour while you enjoy the sweetness of your together time.

Fun with food

Make mini-gingerbread “stables” out of graham crackers. Use one cracker for each side wall, one for the roof and one for a back wall. Leave the front side open. While your kids are decorating the walls and interior, ask your kids what they think Jesus was like when He was a child. Have them think of a “Jesus-like” character trait that each type of candy, cereal or dried fruit can represent. For example, cinnamon hearts can serve as a reminder that there is joy in a home when family members are loving toward each other. Another child might say that a gummy blue whale reminds him to be generous and share his toys.

To make the icing for your gingerbread stables, you will need:

2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla or peppermint extract
2 ½ – 3 cups of icing sugar

Use a hand mixer to beat the egg whites until they are fluffy. Add the flavouring, along with half a cup of powdered sugar. Beat the mixture until it’s smooth. Keep adding icing sugar, half a cup at a time, until the icing forms stiff peaks. This icing is ideal for decorating as it hardens quickly. If you are not going to use it right away, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it.

Serving others

To allow your children to experience the joy of giving, plan to surprise someone with a gift of some Christmas baking, out of season. Prior to deciding who you should share your baking with, ask God which family friend, relative or neighbour is in need of extra encouragement. Use the experience as an opportunity to talk with your children about how joyful they feel when they bless another person with a gift. Compare this to the joy they feel when they receive gifts.

Nativity drama

Set up a Nativity scene and have your children act out the Christmas story while you read it aloud. Household items like brooms, towels and bathrobes can serve as props and the cast’s wardrobe. As you read the Christmas story, let your kids play a variety of roles using props of their choice. For example, they might choose a mop to be a donkey, a laundry basket as a manger and a tissue box as a wise man’s gift.

Creative crafts

If your children enjoy crafts, have them make a “baby Jesus in a manger ornament.” As they work, use the opportunity to discuss the joy of the first Christmas. Share with your children the angel’s announcement to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10). Remind your kids that through Jesus, God gave the whole world the gift of salvation.

To make one manger ornament, you will need:

a circular mini-grape vine wreath (6-8 cm or 2½ – 3 inches in diameter)
a wooden bead (1.5 cm or ½ inch in diameter)
strips of cloth (cut from an old tea towel)
cardboard
a piece of string or ribbon
an ice pop stick
straw of any sort
felt markers
a low-temperature glue gun

  • Begin by gluing a layer of brown cardboard on the bottom of the grapevine wreath to create a manger. Spread a layer of glue in the bottom of the manger and have your child fill it with craft moss, shredded yellow paper or tissue, yellow yarn or Easter basket grass, making a cozy manger.
  • To make baby Jesus, draw closed eyes and a little mouth on the wooden bead. Glue one-third of an ice pop stick to the back of the bead to serve as a “body,” then have your child wrap strips of cloth around and around the stick until it looks like a wrapped-up baby. Secure the end of the cloth with a spot of glue.
  • Glue another smaller strip of cloth over the baby’s head to cover the bead hole.
  • Finally, glue the baby in the manger and tie a ribbon to the top of the wreath so you can hang it up.

Note: This baby Jesus ornament can also be used in the shadow box for the kick-off craft of this lesson.

Drive time

While you are travelling in your family’s vehicle, sing Joy to the World and talk about ways that Jesus brings joy to your lives. Put your ideas into song with your own Jesus-centred remake of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Here’s a sample to jump-start your own ideas:

On the first day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, His Spirit to live in me.

On the second day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, two helping hands…

On the third day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, three cups of kindness…

On the fourth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, four jugs of joy…

On the fifth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, five reasons to share…

On the sixth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, six packs of peace…

On the seventh day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, seven sacks of smiles…

On the eighth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, eight gobs of goodness…

On the ninth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, nine loads of love…

On the tenth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, ten tons of trust…

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, eleven pounds of patience…

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Jesus gave to me, twelve jars of gentleness…

Questions for discussion
  • What is your most favourite Christmas tradition of all?
  • If you could play a part in the Christmas story, which character would you like to be?
  • What do you think it would have been like to have Jesus as a brother?
  • How does Jesus bring joy to your life?
  • How does knowing Jesus change the way you treat others?
Relevant Scripture

Acts 20:35 “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Luke 2:10-12 “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ ”

Luke 11:13 “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

The “Os” have it

/in , /by

Have each of your children decorate a special jar or container, then place the decorated jar where your children will see it often.

When a child is obedient, recognize their obedience by awarding them an “obedience bead” to put a bead in their jar. Obedience beads can be Cheerios® or Fruit Loops®. At a predetermined time, have your children thread the beads on a string and allow them to wear it, and/or eat it.

Other ideas

If it seems appropriate, you may like to try the additional step of removing a bead from a child’s jar when they are disobedient. If you prefer a tangible but less sugary reward, use craft beads instead, but be sure they are not a choking hazard for younger children in your home.

Relevant Scripture

Proverbs 1:8-9 “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.”

Puzzling patience

/in /by

As you work on these activities, use this time to discuss what patience is. For a young child, patience can be defined as keeping going, even if things get hard; staying calm when someone or something is bothering you; and waiting calmly for things.

Mini-jigsaw

Choose a challenging puzzle to complete with your children. Even if this project takes a day or two, ensure that patient work pays off with a completed project.

Family photo

Many photo labs make “picture puzzles” from your choice of a family photograph. While completing the puzzle, you will see the picture of each family member take shape. Ask your children what “patience” looks like and if they think others can see patience in them.

Create your own puzzle

You can make your own puzzle using a picture of fruit. Glue a glossy magazine picture of fruit on to cardboard and cut it out randomly. Your children may be able to help with the random cutting. As you complete the puzzle, talk about how patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Relevant Scripture

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Patience makes perfect

/in /by

Choose a craft that requires careful and patient work. Work at it together! Use it as an opportunity to talk to your children about patience.

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines patience as “calm endurance of hardship, provocation, pain, delay, etc.” and as “tolerant perseverance.” For a young child, patience can be defined as “keeping going, even if things get hard; staying calm when someone or something is bothering you; and waiting calmly for things.”

For young children, working at a challenging craft requires patience because it can be tempting to get frustrated or quit if the project does not take shape quickly or as they had envisioned it. Ideas include gluing small objects, threading beads, drawing a grid and colouring the grid squares in a pattern. Talk about how the patience you used while putting the craft together paid off in the end with how satisfying it was to complete the project. Talk about how the craft would have looked differently if you had not been so patient with it.

We are works of art

/in /by

Take part of a morning or afternoon to stop by a local art gallery or museum. Prior to entering the gallery, explain what kind of behaviour shows respect for the artwork and other people who are there.

Basic rules include speaking in quiet voices, being polite as you discuss the artwork, looking with your eyes only, not touching with your hands, and walking calmly in the gallery as horseplay can damage artwork and be disruptive.

Spend time looking at all of the different styles of paintings there are. Point out how each one is beautiful in a unique way. Have your children pick out a favourite artist and ask why they like the style of that artist’s work. On the drive home, explain that we are all “works of art,” fashioned uniquely by God.

When you get home, allow your children to create their own work of art. Admire it and tell them it is as uniquely wonderful as they are. Ask your children how they felt when you appreciated the beauty of their art. Tell them it makes God happy when we treat His artwork (other people) with respect and consideration (Ephesians 2:10, Isaiah 43:7, Psalm 139:14).

In the future, when you hear your children speaking disrespectfully, you can remind them to treat others as valuable works of art who have been created by God.

Note: A scaled down version of this activity can be done by critiquing the art and illustrations in a variety of children’s books.

Relevant Scripture

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Isaiah 43:7 “…everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.”

Psalm 139:14 “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Five-bell alarm

/in /by

This is a longer activity that can be completed over several days. The goal is to teach your children to manage their anger appropriately through prayer and by asking God to help them decide if their anger is “righteous” or “unrighteous.” You will work with your kids to make an “anger alarm” that is similar to a fire alarm that can be pulled in case of fire. Begin by using the discussion questions to introduce the idea that anger can be similar to a fire. If you have the opportunity, show your children a fire alarm in a public building.

Questions for discussion
  • Do you know what a fire alarm looks like?
  • Have you ever heard a fire alarm? If so, what does it sound like?
  • Why would someone pull a fire alarm?
  • Are all fires bad?
  • What kind of fire is a good fire? And a bad fire?
  • How is anger like a fire?
  •  What is the best thing to do if you are angry?
Key concepts

A fire alarm is designed to alert people to the danger of a fire in a building and to get help from the fire department. Some fires, like campfires, are safe and helpful fires, whereas wildfires are harmful and dangerous. Anger is like a fire because it can be helpful, letting us know that something is wrong. Even Jesus experienced anger (see the story below). Anger in itself is not wrong; it’s what we choose to do with our anger that makes it right or wrong. Anger, just like a fire, can cause great damage and harm if it is not kept under control. The Bible says, “In your anger do not sin,” (Ephesians 4:26a). The Bible also tells us that anger does not bring about the righteous life God wants us to live (James 1:20).

Making an anger alarm

Plan to make an “anger alarm” to serve as a tool to help your children manage their anger and solicit God’s help. The idea is to provide your kids with a systematic and spiritual strategy to deal with their anger. Follow these instructions to make your “anger alarm.”

  • Take a thick piece of cardboard measuring 15 cm x 20 cm (6″ x 8″) and cut a door in it measuring 5 cm x 10 cm (2″ x 4″). Cut three sides only and leave one side attached as a hinge. You may wish to add hook and loop tape as a fastener to keep the door closed.
  • Paint or colour the cardboard red and write on the door “Pull in case of anger.”
  • Inside your anger alarm, write these questions: “Would this make God mad too?” and “Do I have a righteous reason to be angry?” When a child pulls the alarm door open, read the questions aloud and use the definitions provided on the chart below to help your child determine if their anger is righteous anger or unrighteous anger. You may wish hang a copy of the chart beside your anger alarm. These two short stories help explain the difference between righteous anger and unrighteous anger:
    • Jonah 4:1-11 | Jonah is mad because God showed compassion on the city of Nineveh
    • Matthew 21:12-13 | Jesus was angry to find the money lenders’ tables in the temple. Today, this would be a bit like regularly using your church sanctuary for a farmer’s market or a garage sale. (If your child asks why Jesus was allowed to turn over tables when He was mad and they cannot, explain that Jesus was God and dealing with sin is His job, not ours.)
  • Explain that even when we experience righteous anger, we need to leave our anger with God and ask Him to take care of the problem. Reiterate that it is God’s job to decide if a person has sinned and how to discipline those who have sinned. Tell your children that unrighteous anger also needs to be left with God in the form of confession. Once you have helped a child determine if their anger is righteous or unrighteous, you can help them take the problem to God in prayer. Sample prayers are provided at the bottom of the following chart.

Five-bell alarm chart

Righteous anger is being angry about the things God detests (Proverbs 6:16-20) Unrighteous anger is based on sinful attitudes (James 3:14-18, James 1:19-20)
Pride or haughty eyes: When someone is not humble before God or refuses to admit sinfulness Self-pity: Feeling angry because I am feeling sorry for myself
Injustice: When people are mistreated or treated unfairly Jealousy: Feeling angry because someone has something I want
Idolatry: When people honour things in a way that only God deserves to be honoured Self-centredness: Feeling angry because I don’t get my own way
Greed: When people do not follow God’s directions from the Bible and choose to do wrong instead Impatience: Feeling angry because I don’t want to wait for something
Dishonesty or a lying tongue: When people don’t tell the truth or deceive others Laziness: Feeling angry because I have to do something when I’d rather just relax
A heart that plans wicked schemes: When people plan to do wrong Selfishness: Feeling angry because I don’t want to share
Feet that are quick to rush into evil: When people are quick to choose to do wrong Over-sensitivity: Being angered by small or insignificant things
Stirring up conflict: When people do things to cause others to fight Pride: Anger due to an unwillingness to admit that I am wrong or at fault
Sample prayer when anger is righteous:
“Dear God, Please help me to trust You with this problem instead of trying to take care of it myself. Please help me not to hold any bitterness or anger in my heart. I leave this problem with You, because I know it’s Your job to judge and not mine. Amen.”		 Sample prayer when anger is unrighteous:
“Dear God, I am angry because ________. This is wrong and I confess my unrighteous anger to You. Please forgive me and take the angry attitude out of my heart. I leave this problem with You, because I know it’s Your job to judge and not mine. Amen.”
Sample prayer when it is hard to tell if the anger is righteous or unrighteous:
“Dear God, I am angry and I don’t know if my anger is righteous or unrighteous, but You do! Please help me not to sin or to hold any bitterness or anger in my heart. I leave my anger and this problem with You, because I know it’s Your job to judge and not mine. Amen.”
Relevant Scripture

Proverbs 6:16-20 “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

James 1:19-20 “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

James 3:14-18 “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”

Righteous warriors

/in , /by

Most kids love an excuse to dress up. In this activity you will help your children make or select dress-up items to reinforce the idea that we can be “clothed in righteousness.” You will need dress-up clothes, cardboard, wide fabric elastic and sticky-back jewels, or little wads of tinfoil to serve as jewels.

Read the verses provided below and ask your children to identify different pieces of clothing mentioned in the verses. For each piece of clothing they note, work together to make that item, then add it to your dress-up box.

Here are some suggestions to help you make the clothing you will need:

Cloak | Use a shiny scarf with metallic thread, a fuzzy blanket or any length of fabric that your children find appealing to wrap up in.

Breastplate | You will need a chest-sized piece of cardboard, scissors and 61 cm (24 inches) of fabric elastic measuring 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide, plus your choice of medium to decorate or cover the cardboard. Begin by slicing 1-cm-wide slits (half-inch slits) in the cardboard as shown below – one at each corner and one in the middle of each side.

To make arm straps, take a 15-20 cm (6-8 inch) length of elastic and push the end through one of the top holes, working from front to back. Tie a knot so the elastic will not pull back through. Take the other end of the elastic and push it through the hole just below it, again tying a knot to keep it from slipping back through. This is your first arm strap. Repeat this step on the other side.

To make the waist strap you will need 20-31 cm (8-12 inches) of elastic. Use the same method you used to make the arm strap, attaching the elastic to each bottom corner of the breastplate. Help your child decorate their breastplate creatively. You may wish to glue large gold or silver buttons over the elastic knots and add other details using colourful ribbons or markers.

Crown of righteousness | Cut a 5-cm-wide (2-inch-wide) strip of cardboard, making it 5 cm longer than the circumference of your child’s head. Help your child cut a jagged edge on one side of the strip. Colour and decorate the crown, leaving a 5-cm space at one end to allow for overlap. Use a glue gun or stapler to join the two ends of the cardboard, overlapping the ends as needed to fit around your child’s head.

Pray, based on Colossians 3:12-14: “Lord God, please clothe us with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Help us to put up with each other and forgive whatever complaints we have about each other. We want to forgive others as You forgive us. And most important of all, please help us to ‘put on’ love, so we can be a unified family who lives together enjoying peace.”

Talk about the different ways your children can choose to be righteous. When you see your children choosing to be righteous, you can affirm them by giving out jewels to add to their crowns or breastplates. The “jewels” can be taken from old strings of beads or pearls. (Beads can be a choking hazard so omit this idea if you have young children in the house.) To add interest, you may also wish to have your children connect a “righteous act” with a specific jewel colour. For example, pink might represent kindness, yellow might represent generosity, love, justice or mercy etc. Continue to add jewels for the duration of your study on righteous choices.

Relevant Scripture

Isaiah 64:5-6 “You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, You were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

Isaiah 59:17 “He put on righteousness as His breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak.”

Isaiah 61:9-11 “Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed. I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”

2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”

Colossians 3:12-14 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”