Monday, March 28, 2011

VBS Coloring Pages 2011

Here are some coloring pages we’ve created for the 2011 VBS programs.

For each program, there is a coloring page for every day of VBS—a total of five pages. Each coloring page has the daily memory verse and the Bible theme. If you have younger children, you can feel free to shorten the verse by whiting out (or taping over) the final phrase before copying the coloring page. Each coloring page shows a picture to complement the Bible memory verse or Bible point for that day. The coloring pages come in sets of five pages for just $4.99 per set. The best part is, you can make as many copies as you need!

For Nazareth, there is a set of coloring pages for the New Living Translation, a separate set for the New International Versionand a separate set for the King James Version. (The NLT is the version used on the Bible memory makers.) 


(Click on the images above to go to the download pages—NLT is on the left, NIV is on the right, and KJV is on the bottom.)

For your SonSurf VBS, there is a set of coloring pages for the New International Version and a separate set for the King James Version. (The NIV verses are used on the Connection Cards and other SonSurf printed materials.)

(Click on the images above to download the pages—
KJV is on the left and NIV is on the right)

For the Main Street VBS, every coloring page has a portion of the daily memory verse, I Timothy 4:12. Each day we've added a few more words to the verse so by Day 5 the entire verse is shown. There is a set of coloring pages for the New International Version and a separate set for the King James Version. (These are the versions used on the Bible memory posters.) 

(Click the images above to download the pages—
KJV is on the left and the NIV is on the right)

For the PandaMania VBS, there is a coloring page for the New International Version and one for the New Living Version. At the end of your VBS week, your students will have all five of the memory verses—a fun keepsake reminder of their week at vacation Bible school.

(Click images above to download the PandaMania coloring pages—
NLT is on the left and the NIV is on the right)

If you’d like to take a look at any of these VBS Starter Kits, visit Shop VBS for more information and to order your starter kits. Watch for more coloring pages coming soon (Gold Rush, Mega Sports Camp: Go the Distance, and Kickin' It Old School).

Monday, March 21, 2011

Easter Card Craft

Download this FREE Easter Card Craft to help your students understand the Easter story and share it with their friends and family members.

Copy the craft page below for each child. Give it to the child along with crayons or markers, scissors, and a paper fastener. If you have young students, read the directions aloud for them. You may also want to pre-print stickers with "Jesus lives!" on them if your students are too young to print it themselves. Read the words aloud as you point to them. Help each child make an Easter card. Tell the Easter story as the children work. When the cards are finished, let the children help you retell the story and use their cards to seal the tomb and then roll the stone away when you indicate.

Encourage the children to tell the Easter story to their friends and family members as they give them the cards. You may want to have them give out the cards a week or two before Easter and include an invitation to your church's Easter service.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!


Click on the image above to download the craft.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Preschool Lesson: God Planned for Families



Help your preschool students understand that God has a plan for parents to care for their children. 


Download the lesson below. Cut out the visuals of Moses, Basket Lid, Moses in Basket, Miriam, Jochebed, and Pharaoh’s Daughter from Teaching Visuals 45A and 45B. Cut a slit in Jochebed’s arms, as shown. Cut a 5” x 3” piece of construction paper and trim it to look like grass or reeds. Glue flannel or felt to the back of each visual. Bring a flannel board.

Ask the children to name people who help take care of them. Then say, I’m glad God planned for people to care for us. Let’s listen quietly to a Bible story about a boy whose mother loved him very much. Hold your open Bible on your lap. Explain that this is a true story from God's Word, the Bible.



A MOTHER’S LOVE 
Amram [AM-ram] and Jochebed [JOCK-uh-bed] had a secret. Big brother Aaron and big sister Miriam had a secret, too (place Miriam visual on the flannel board). They had a new baby boy in their house, but they couldn’t tell anyone. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, thought there were too many Hebrew people. Pharaoh said that all new Hebrew baby boys had to be killed.

When Jochebed’s baby was born (place
Jochebed visual on the board), Jochebed knew God had given her a special child (place Moses visual in Jochebed’s arms, sliding it into the slit). Jochebed loved her baby very much. She did not want her baby to die, so she hid him in the house. She took good care of the baby and he grew bigger and stronger. Soon he could cry loudly, and Jochebed knew it was not safe to hide him in the house any longer.
Jochebed had an idea. She took a strong basket and made sure that no water could get in it — not even one drop. Then Jochebed lovingly wrapped her baby in a blanket. She gently laid the baby in the basket (remove Moses visual and place Moses in Basket in Jochebed’s arms).

“Come, Miriam,”
Jochebed said to the baby’s big sister. “I need your help.” (Move Jochebed and Miriam visuals to the middle of the flannel board.) Miriam and Jochebed went to the river, and Jochebed put the basket in the water near some tall grass (place grass visual to the right of Jochebed; place Moses in Basket to the right of the grass; place the Basket Lid on the basket).
Jochebed pointed to a nearby spot. “Now, Miriam,” she said, “stay here. Watch the basket and see what happens to our baby.” (Place Miriam visual slightly behind the grass.)

Soon the princess, Pharaoh’s daughter, came to the river (place Pharaoh’s Daughter on the board). The princess looked out into the river, and saw something strange floating in the water. It was the basket!

When the princess opened the basket, the baby was surprised (remove Basket Lid and move Moses in Basket beside Pharaoh’s Daughter). The baby began to cry.

The princess was surprised, too. “Look,” she said. “This is a Hebrew baby. I feel sorry for him. I want to keep him.”

Just then Miriam came out of her hiding place and ran to the princess (move Miriam next to Pharaoh’s Daughter).

“Would you like for me to find a Hebrew woman to help you feed and care for the baby” she asked.

“Oh, yes,” answered the princess.

Miriam ran home (remove Miriam). She told her mother what had happened and brought her to the princess (place Miriam and
Jochebed on the board).

“Here, take the baby,” the princess said to
Jochebed. “Feed him and take care of him until he is old enough to live with me. I will pay you.”
Jochebed agreed (remove Moses in Basket; place Moses in Jochebed’s arms). She took her own baby boy home. She did just what the princess told her. God helped her so she was able to care for her own little boy. When the boy was old enough, Jochebed took him to live with the princess. The princess named him “Moses.” Moses grew up to be one of God’s great helpers.

Close by talking about some ways your preschoolers can be helpers at home and church.

Download the full preschool lesson: A Mother's Love.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Giving Thanks At All Times

Before your lesson, print the Mayflower picture from below. Tell your students the following story:

Today we are going to be talking about thanking God. We have an example of some people long ago who thanked God. These people are the Pilgrims. They thanked God in good times and in bad times.

How did the Pilgrims get to the New World? (In a ship called the Mayflower; show the Mayflower picture.) That trip was very hard. Storms tossed the ship. The Pilgrims didn't arrive in the new World until November, too late to plant crops before winter. So that first winter in the New World was very hard. Many people got sick. In fact the captain of the Mayflower stayed through the winter and Mayflower became a hospital ship. But the Pilgrims thought their hard times were God's way of testing to them to see if they had courage and faith. Let's pretend we are Pilgrims. It is winter, and it is cold. You are trying to build little cabins for the people to live in. (Have all the students stand and pretend to build.)

During the middle of winter, many people got sick and died. Many of those were children. Some days, as many as three people died. (Pull out three students and have them stand to one side.)

Now there are fewer of you to work. Some people were sent to the Mayflower because they were so sick. (Pull out three more students and have them stand in another area. Have the remaining students keep working.)

By the end of winter, half the people had died. (Send half of your students to stand with the first three.)

Do you think the Pilgrims gave up after that first year? No, they had a celebration to thank God. They invited their friends from the Wampanoag tribe to celebrate with them. That is how our first Thanksgiving Day started. If the Pilgrims could thank God through their hard times, we certainly should be able to thank God through our hard times, too.

(Have everyone sit down. Let the students share some of the things for which they're thankful.)
We have all felt grateful to God for something at some time. Perhaps you have felt grateful when God allowed something good to happen to your family like a new baby or someone who was sick getting well. Other time, we must thank God even when we don't feel thankful. God wants us to thank him when we're in a hard situation or when we feel depressed or sad. During those times, it's harder to thank God.

(Talk with the students about some of the hard times they or their friends have gone through. Share a time in your own life when you thanked God during a difficult situation.)

For most of us, thanking God is hard because we can't think of things to say. We forget about all the wonderful things God has done for us. Or, if we do notice them, we often forget to thank God for them. Let's talk about some things for which we can thank God right now. (Mention a few of your own praises, too.) 

(Encourage the students to pray brief prayers of thanks for each thing mentioned by the others. Thank God for each student. Ask that each child will remember to give God thanks on a regular basis. Remember to pray for each child during the week.)

 
Click the image above to print the Mayflower