Child's Table Turn Interactive Bible Time Visual Map!!!

Just wanted to share a VISUAL AID that I REALLY LOVE!!!!! This is a WONDERFUL Visual Aid.  It is interactive and the Kiddos really LOVE this one too!! 

This is one of those VISUAL AIDS that stays in my classroom ALL THE TIME!!!! It is so convenient to use, simply by having it in the room.  One of my favorite things to see is when one of my KIDDOS will "Teach" the other Kiddos a Bible Story at this table.  They are so sweet!!!!

To make this Visual Aid I used a child's size table that had belonged to my children.  I purchased this table YEARS ago at a garage sale for $3.00.  It was in good condition when I bought it....but after going through my kiddos it had been colored on, marked up with markers, had glue stuck to the top it really was in very USED condition.  So, knowing that this table had "good bones" and was very sturdy...it just looked REALLY bad....I decided to turn it into a Bible Lands Table.  I simply painted the top to resemble the Land of Canaan....I added sand to the paint to give it some texture...and then sprayed it with a clear coat of varnish.  Then I let it dry for SEVERAL days...and it was READY for USE!!!!

You see, I had all these little Bible Characters that I had purchased at the Dollar Tree....and they needed a home.   This Bible Land Table was the PERFECT home for my little Bible Characters.  I LOVE how this turned out!!!!  Whenever the little ones are over at this table and telling different Bible stories...well, can you say SMILE....because, that is EXACTLY what I do!!!!  

My encouragement is to RETHINK an items purpose.  Can you take something that your children have outgrown, don't use, don't want and turn it into something useful for Bible Class?  A little paint, a glue gun, a bit of sewing, fabric, etc.  The possibilities are ENDLESS!!!!!!  

BTW, I often get teased about those multiple KIDS MEALS TOYS that I buy....Well, those PALM TREES came in KID MEALS back in the 90's.  I have used those trees for several different stories...BUT, I REALLY love having them when I teach on Deborah!!!

 

Blessings,

Ronda

Eli, Hannah and Samuel.....Exploring Bible History

We have JUST begun our NEW UNIT!!!!!!  We are going to be EXPLORING  and  learning about Eli, Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon.  We are going to be VERY BUSY over the next quarter.

This is the way I "CONTAIN" my teaching materials....I use a BIG BINDER and plastic sleeves----LOTS OF PLASTIC SLEEVES!!!!!!  

I am PRAYING fervently about this undertaking.  It is a little more challenging to come up with activities, review games, etc. for the material we are about to EXPLORE......so, I am STRETCHING my brain as I work on these lessons.  :-)

This is what my classroom looks like!!!  I am blessed to have a LARGE ROOM....with plenty of room for the kiddos activities!!!

We have

'TABLE TIME" 

&  

"CIRCLE TIME." 

Our EAA, which stands for EARLY ARRIVAL ACTIVITY is a PUZZLE and then a DRAWING activity. 

I made this puzzle using frames from the Dollar Tree!!!  I call the puzzle "GOD'S AMAZING PLAN!" It is truly a puzzle with each TIME PERIOD OF THE BIBLE in each puzzle piece.  The kiddos worked together to get the puzzle in the correct chronological order!!!

After they completed the puzzle I allowed them to draw in "white boards."  These boards are cut from wall board that I purchased at LOWES..  $11.96 gave me 32 white boards!!!!  I have shared them with ALL the other Bible Classes!!!!   I had coded the white boards with various BIBLE characters and events.  The kiddos had to draw me a picture of what they could remember about the character of event.  THEY LOVED IT!!!!!  All kiddos love to draw on the white/chalk board so, I decided to use this to MY ADVANTAGE!!!!  I will post some pics of what they drew----They amazed me!!!!!

We have NEW cards to add to our WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? and HOW? WALL!!!!  

We have a  "NEW" map up on the wall.  

 

We have already added two locations!!!!  

 

The kiddos LOVE to add new locations to the map.

This is our NEW bulletin board.

BTW, I just use the WALL!!!

We have 3 CROWNS and 3 MEN that would be KING.  

We will write (with a sharpie) information about each KING  on each crow.  BTW, the pictures came from DOLLAR TREE...I bought them last year....I sure hope they come out with MORE BIBLE related visuals!

Hannah Praying

Hannah's Answered Prayer!

Our first lesson was about Hannah.  Hannah prayed fervently for a baby boy.  The kiddos were very engaged with this story.  I explained how Hannah went to GOD through prayer.  I let them know that GOD really wants us to let HIM know our wants and needs.  They seemed to really get IT!!!!  YAY!!!!!

This was the kiddos "TAKE HOME." 

 

Our Memory Verse was Psalm 38:15.  "For in YOU, O LORD, I hope.  You will hear, O Lord my GOD."     I  felt this was an appropriate verse for the subject we were EXPLORING.  We sang the verse to the tune:  "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians."

Our REVIEW Game was called "PIN THE BOTTLE ON SAMUEL"  Each bottle had a question about the lesson written on it.  If the kiddo answer correctly (which they ALL did) they had to opportunity to "pin" (we used double stick tape) the bottle to Samuel.  They really enjoyed this!!!!!

On Wednesday Evening the kiddos colored  a picture of Samuel...added a "real" rattle and 3D blocks that spell SAMUEL.    They all turned our soooo sweet.  The kiddos added this to their NEW EXPLORER JOURNAL.    (The rattles came from the DOLLAR TREE   and we made the BLOCKS using little square wooden pieces and foamy  3D letters.)

I told you we are going to be busy....  :-)     And, I would NOT have it any other way!!!!!  I feel soooo blessed to be a BIBLE CLASS teacher!!!!  I am looking forward to sharing our EXPLORATIONS with you over the next few months!!!! 

Blessings,

 

 

Ronda

Fruit of the Spirit

Today was the beginning of a NEW Quarter for my students.  With a new quarter....we are beginning new material.  

Our Theme for the Quarter....I LOVE the bright colors.

We are EXPLORING the FRUIT of THE SPIRIT from Galatians 5.   The kiddos were so excited to see all the NEW items in the classroom.  I even had one little girl asking her mom if she would get to have NEW MEMORY VERSES with the new material.  I love it when the little ones want to memorize GOD'S WORD.  

Since our we are learning through EXPLORING BIBLE HISTORY, we will continue to use the Who? What? When? Where? Where? Why? and How does it effect us? Method.  

  

Who? What? When? Where? Where? Why? & How? WALL

Our WHO? was--Apostle Paul and the Christians living in Galatia.

Our WHAT? was-- That Paul LOVES the Christians in Galatia.  Paul wanted them to know that GOD had done them a BIG FAVOR (GRACE) by sending JESUS to die for their sins.   God wanted the Christians to have a HAPPY life....and a Happy life come though have the qualities of the FRUIT of THE SPIRIT.

Our WHEN? was--Christian Dispensation.

Our WHERE? was--Ephesus/Corinth (possibly where Paul was when he wrote the letter.)  GALATIA.

Our WHERE? in the Bible is the story found? was-- New Testament/Galatians.

Our WHY? was-- God wants Christians to behave in a godly way.  HE wants us to love others.  He wants us to feel joy.  He wants us to be peaceful, patience, kind, good, gentle, and in control of our self.  God knows if we live this way we will be happier and make others happier too.

Our How does this effect us? was--We must make sure to be living the way GOD wants us to live.  We must make sure we are always BEARING THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.  We must have all these qualities in our life every day.  

This is one of the NEW items on the wall in our classroom.  It is a large laminated poster that has interchangeable (via velcro) cards that have the FRUIT of THE SPIRIT on them.  We will have one up for the week that we are learning about that attribute.   There is a small picture that represents the attribute....that will help the little ones "SEE" the attribute in a visual way.  

The Kiddos "Take Home" Activity was a smaller version of the BIG poster....They colored each of the pictures on the Attribute cards...we added the velcro dots, so that the kiddos can take it home and review each attribute with their parents.  I LOVE it when kiddos are able to review their BIBLE lesson with their parents in a fun and exciting way.  THEY LOVED making these...and were sooo excited about taking them home and sharing with their family.  I added a pocket to the back so that there would be a place to store all their attribute cards.

This is our NEW Memory Verse Card.  The kiddos colored their card in class...and they ALL had it memorized before leaving the classroom...that just makes me smile.

We added pieces to our interactive map.  We added "CORINTH"  and "Galatia."  "Ephesus" was on their from last quarters, Armor of God study.  

The kiddos will be making these FRUIT BASKETS on Wednesday Evening.  They will be going into their "EXPLORER JOURNAL."  The baskets are really 3D and pop up off the back of the page.  I really need to take an extra pic. to show how cute they really are.  

I finally took a pic to show  the 3D.

One of the NEW VISUALS I have in the Classroom....We will be using this as a REVIEW lesson in the future.  The BIBLE is opened up to Galatians chapter 5.

This is a "Fruit of The Spirit" homemade book.  I made this from an OLD visual aid.  It used to be posters....But, I cut it up and put each attribute on its OWN page...and now when we SING our FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT song...we can use this book to look at each attribute in action.  This morning I spent a lot of time going over the list of attributes that make up the Fruit of The Spirit....and this book really helped keep the kiddos attention....I LOVE re-purposing old material.

As a REVIEW Game we played a Question Game that involved putting a puzzle together.  The puzzle is made from a laminated Fruit of the Spirit Picture that I had printed from my computer.  I then cut it out in a PUZZLE shape and added magnet strips to the back....I placed it on my magnetic board (I LOVE my magnetic board) all mixed up.  The children answered a question from the lesson...then had the opportunity to  place a piece of the puzzle in the correct placement.  They REALLY enjoyed doing this...so, I will definitely be thinking of other "Puzzle Review Games" we can play in the future.

Hope you are enjoying teaching Bible Classes....Remember you are teaching precious little souls--LIFE CHANGING MATERIAL!!!

Blessings,

Ronda

Armor of God Exploring Bible History New Testament Lessons 2

I have been busy this week.  Still playing a bit of catch up since my daughter Sarah's wedding and vacation.  So, I  spent some time getting the kiddo's "Explorer Journals" made.  This quarter our Explorer Journals are light blue.  They match the time line boards that  are in our bible classes  hallway.

As I promised, I took a picture of our Map for this quarter.  The kiddos were excited that we are in a "New" location.  We have Rome and Ephesus clearly labeled on the map.

Since our lesson is all about the Breastplate of Righteousness, I decided we would make Breastplates.  Just seems logical...hehe.  The kiddos will decorate the front of their Breastplate anyway they want.  We will have pieces of paper, buttons, etc. available.  After they complete their Breastplate we (my helper and I) will help the kiddos get them on.  I know they will LOVE wearing them out of the classroom...and am looking forward to them telling the others all about the lesson.  Our lesson will be focusing on how we must live righteously.  We will use the Good Samaritan as one of our examples of choosing the righteous thing to do.

This is the kiddos memory verse card.  We will sing the memory verse to a little tune several times before the kiddos leave the classroom.  I am sure they will ALL have this memorized very quickly.  

One of the visuals we are using this quarter is a "flip chart" of the Armor of God.  This Flip Chart was made from the part of the package that my BIG Armor of God Soldier came from.  Instead of throwing away that little top portion of the package...I cut it up, printed out the name of each piece of the Armor...laid it up on the poster board, then laminated.  So, from TRASH to TREASURE.  Always check the packaging for useful pictures before discarding.  

OK, Sometimes thing just don't work.  I started out with this idea for the kiddos "Explorer Journal" activity.  I loved the look....but, it took WAY to many coins, and I did NOT have the time to cut each of these plastic coins for a total of 6-8 kiddos.  HUM, so what to do?  

Well, I went to Dollar Tree and purchased 4 silver shiny bags.  I took them back to the building and cut them up into pieces that would fit on my CRICUT.  I programmed in circles and let the machine do the work.  So, this will be the Explorer Journal Activity for this Wednesday Evening.  I wish I would have been able to do the other idea...I just like the 3D effect.....but, time is important....and the kiddos will love all this shiny paper.  So, sometimes I have to admit my limits and find an alternative.  I think this works.  

So, I guess my advice is, when something is taking WAY to long to come together....look for alternatives that will get the effect. 

Our Review Activity this week is the same as last week.  We are going to Get our Armor On.  The kiddos loved playing it last week, so I decided it would be good to repeat the game this week.  

Blessings,

Ronda

Armor of God Exploring Bible History New Testament Lessons

Today was the beginning of our new "Theme."  We are Exploring the Armor of God.  

Paul wrote the Letter to the brethren in Ephesus.  They lived under the Roman Government and were completely aware of the Armor a Soldier wore.  

The kiddos were excited to get started with this new topic.  However, I was asked SEVERAL times...."are we going to finish the Judges and learn about the Kings?"  They are so smart!!!  After lots of reassurance we went on with our new topic.

I had the kiddos put on the Explorer Hats today and we sang the song. "We Are Bible Explorers."  The kiddos love marching around the room as we sing this song.   

We then went right on with my lesson plans.  We added a BEE to their attendance charts as we sang our attendance song.  We then talked about Prayer and how we are to be REVERENT during prayer.  We then said our prayer.  Then we did some Basic Bible Review and Songs.  This is when we say our Books of the Bible.  Review how many book are in the Bible, how many main parts, how many book in the Old/New, etc.  

This is when I told them that our lesson was from the New Testament.  I told the kids it came from the Ephesian Epistle (telling them that they would impress their parents if they remembered that an Epistle is a fancy word for a letter.)    I then showed them  where Ephesus and Rome are on our NEW classroom map.  (I forgot to take a picture of the map...I will make sure to get one next week.)   I explained that Paul loved the Christians that lived in Ephesus and wanted them to be strong.   I then went on with the lesson about Armor.  

Our main focus was on the BELT OF TRUTH today.  We talked about our need for listening to TRUTH.  We talked about how the devil is filled with lies and is our enemy...and God's Word will help us defeat our enemy.

Our activity was a cardstock BELT OF TRUTH.  They were so cute wearing these as they left the classroom.

Our Memory Verse was Ephesians 6:14.  We had a little tune to sing the memory verse too.  I LOVE to have a song to go with their memory verses.  I think it helps them to memorize the verse.

Our Review Activity was a fun experience.  I coded a cube (old empty cardboard box) with all the pieces of the Armor of God.  The kiddos had to answer a question from the story for an opportunity to roll the cube.  Whatever piece of Armor the cube landed on the children added that to their "soldier."  The boys had a boy soldier and the girls had a girl soldier.  They seemed to enjoy this game.  If they do not get the answer correct I use that as the opportunity to correct any misunderstanding. BTW, this was a cheap game to make.

This is the cube...I covered the box with blue poster paper and then attached the Armor pieces.

We had our Who? What? When? Where? Where? Why? and How? cards.  And we had a card to add to our God's Awesome Plan for Man wall.  I really think this is an important part of ALL Bible stories.

This is our NEW Theme Bulletin Board.

On Wednesday Evening the kiddos will be "designing" their Belt of Truth.  They will glue on sequins after coloring their belt.  They will then add the little Bible to their belt...since the BELT OF TRUTH is the WORD OF GOD. 

I am looking forward to teaching this material.  I know the children really were excited this morning.  I hope they are always excited about learning lessons from God's Word.

Blessings,

Ronda