Kids On Tuesday

Thank you SO much to the girls who have sent things in and to those who are going to!

You all have encouraged my heart! ;) Really! Thank you!

Here is a GREAT idea for a game for kids that helps out Mom too!

Jordan

"Soldier."

It's one of those days where your mom is "frazzled." It's been crazy and the house is a utter mess. You want to help out but you really don't have the power to do it all. How do you get your rambunctious siblings to help? They'd be good at it if you could only channel their energy!

Line each of them up. You are "Sergeant", and the kids are "Privates". Private Olivia, Elizabeth, Daniel, Julia, etc. Teach them the word "attention" and "at ease."

"attention!" you say loudly. They line up. "At ease." Then you proceed by telling them your course of action: The rooms you are going to hit. Maybe the kitchen and living room. Maybe two bedrooms. maybe the play room. Once you tell them what you are going to clean, don't change it and add stuff to it. They will quickly lose their enthusiasm.

Once that is done, give them a little job. I say little- because one thing that you don't want to do is tell Olivia to clean up all the toys, Daniel to get all the trash and clothes/shoes up, and Ellie to dust and vacuum. Very likely if they did that the room would be spic and span. But... do you truly expect that will happen? I'm sure- I can guarantee it- that they will lose heart very fast and start goofing around. It won't work!!! So give them little jobs. "Private Olivia- you take those books and put them straight up on the shelf." "Private Ellie, you take those doll clothes and put them in the basket in your room." "Private Daniel, you see those crayons on the floor? Go put them in the crayon box." They aren't big jobs and can be accomplished very fast. Then you say, "Go!" Everyone salutes and runs off. Once they finish their job they run back and stand in attention. Once everyone is back, (Make sure you do not complain if someone is slower than the others as long as he is being thorough! Oh. And don't think that you can just sit back and read a book while they are working hard. No way!!! While they are working, find something small to do that requires an older person, such as organizing some school books or cleaning off a high shelf. Or help one of the kids with their job of they are having trouble.

Give them all one more job, and repeat till the room is clean. One messy room- and I mean messy- can be completely cleaned and vacuumed/swept in less than twenty minutes as long as you make it fun and don't nag. Offer rewards too if you are having trouble, such as a craft, or maybe- (This really works well!) a small piece of candy. Another really good incentive is a movie(s). That really aids when you are going to tackle a few rooms with your "troop." Make sure you ask your parents. (Although most of the time, when I ask mom, "If I get the kids to clean up the frontroom, kitchen, and playroom, can they have ----?" She won't say no=D

Well, all of you big sisters out there- round up your siblings and get to work- make your mom's day!

Ashlyn Y. IL

Kids on Tuesday

Here is a game that is good to teach Attentiveness to your class kids that I got from IBLP Character First.  I've used it quite a few times over the years and the kids think it's lots of fun!

Attentiveness is "Showing the worth of a person, by giving my full concentration, to his or her words."

Teach the Attentiveness definition.

Set out two chairs, sitting across from each other, in the front of the class.

You sit in one chair and choose a child to come and sit across from you.

Tell them to practice attentiveness by keeping his or her eyes and ears on you no matter what is going on around them.

Then have one or two other children, "distractors", come up and try to distract them by making noise, talking, etc... but they CANNOT touch them!

You can set a timer for a min. and start talking to the child reminding them to keep their eyes on you and not look at what is going on around them.  Or, you can have the 'distractors' start making distractions and amongst their noise you give a command to the the child and then have them carry out exactly what you said without having to come back for reminders.  Like "Go pick up any trash in the room, turn the lights on and off three times, do a jumping jack, and then come back and sit down." 

Take a turn with each child being attentive and being distractors.

Jordan

Kids on Tuesday

Here is a game/activity that would be good in a teaching setting or for just a time filler.

Before class come up with a different sound for each member of your classroom.  It can be hard like the tinkling of keys or drop of water in a cup... to something easy like making an animal noise.  Depending on the age of your class.

Then, take a blind fold and in turn have each one of the kids come to the front of the class and have them sit in a chair.  Cover their eyes to were they can't see at all.  Make one of the sounds and have them see if they can guess what it is without any help from their classmates. 

Do this til each child has had a turn.

This would be a good activity after a lesson about that God made our eyes. Telling the story about Jesus healing the blind man.

Or about the ears, telling the Bible story of Jesus healing the deaf man.

Whichever one, stress how good God is and how grateful we should be if He gave us hearing ears and seeing eyes.  And how He is so powerful and awesome to create such things!

Jordan

Kids on Tuesday

Here is an object lesson you can do with kids in a Sunday School Class or at home with your own siblings!

Bible Text: Genesis 4:1-16

Memory Verse: Hebrews 9:22b

Craft:  Making a fluffy sheep

Explain and memorize the verse

Then tell the story of Cain and Abel.  Making sure to explain the reason Cain's offering was not accepted and Abel's was, and why they were offering sacrifices in the first place.  (The memory verse should help.)  This is a very easy story to put in the plan of salvation.

After that you can have the children sit down and make a fluffy sheep with the memory verse on it to help them remember the meaning of the story...

Supplies:

Paper

Glue

Cotton Balls

This is a very simple craft but does take a little prep on your part.

Take a sheet of paper for each child.  Draw a large, yet simple sheep in the middle, and outline it with a marker.  Then write the memory verse at the bottom.

In class have the children glue cotton balls on the sheep.  They can glue the balls on fluffy or they can pull the balls apart a little which ever they want.  (Or however many cotton balls you have. ;)

And this is just a suggested way to do it.  You can do things in whatever order fits your classroom schedule!  Hope this helps someone who's in a pinch and needs a lesson quick!  ;)

Jordan

Kids on Tuesday

Here are some good yet fun ways to keep order in a classroom setting.  I have found that when kids start getting restless, or are getting distracted from the lesson if I do one or two of these things it helps bring their attention back on me.

I learned these simple finger commands from IBLP.

When you hold up one finger that means to sit up straight.

So to practice this have the kids slouch down and look really sloppy.  Then tell them as soon as you hold up your finger to sit up as straight and tall as they can.

Holding up two fingers means to stop talking, stop laughing, or stop whispering.

Have the kids start talking to each other and making noise while still keeping an eye on you so when you hold up two fingers they instantly get quiet!

Then number three means to smile with at least three teeth showing.

 So, have the kids make really sad faces, then when you hold up three fingers every face should have a cheery smile.  :)

One more thing that is hard especially when you have a younger class is to keep their eyes on you.

So one thing that helps with that is to train them that when you say "Eyeballs!" the kids respond with saying, "Click!" and their eyes on you!  Kids seem to think this is really fun and it's something you can just add in the middle of whatever you are teaching to get their attention back!

Hope these are helpful!  :)

Jordan