Christmas Updates

Hi everyone!

Last week was the end of our Service Project. Our kids were working to raise money for people in need in India. Together, our class raised enough money for:

• 16 blankets to help people stay warm in the winter
• 1 flock of chickens
• 1 goat

Altogether, our class was able to raise over $150! It was great to see God using these devoted young helpers to share His love with people in need. Praise God!

We also got to watch a video about Forgiveness. You can check it out here:

Here are the handouts from week 4 in case you need them

Hmmm

Explore

D-Journal

See you in 2010!

Advent

Hi guys!

We just started Advent, so we have some fun new stuff going on!

First of all, our class is doing a service project to help out people in India. For the rest of this month, our kids are going to try to raise money to help people in need. Here are some examples:

$5 for a blanket to keep someone warm in the winter

$10 so that a child can have school supplies

$18 for a blanket and uniform for a child who is currently coming to school in rags

$35 for a sari, sweater, blanket, and shoes for a destitute widow

$53 for a goat

You can get more information on the page that we handed out in class that you can download here:

Service Project

The 2nd thing that we have going on is our Advent Calendar. We watched this little video starring Lego Darth Vader to get an idea of what it's about:

Our class Advent Calendar is a little different from a normal Advent Calendar. Here's how it works: on each day of our calendar, we write down a way that we can share God's love with someone. Then each day, we do whatever our calendar says to do. In that way, we can give Jesus a gift of service every day before we celebrate His birthday.

Here's the sheet we handed out that talks about the Advent Calendar:

Advent Calendar Information

And here's the activity that we did in class to create the Advent Calendar:

Advent Calendar Activity

If you're still not sure how it works, I made a little video explaining the Service Project and the Advent Calendar:

Finally, our end of the quarter celebration is coming up. I decided to combine it with the last Sunday in Advent so that we can have 2 celebrations in one! I will be handing out Discipleship Awards to kids that have been earning D-Points for our class. If you've been doing some great discipleship stuff at home, but have forgotten to fill out your D-Journal pages, please let me know! I'd like to be able to give your child a Discipleship Award. Just contact me and let me know what kinds of things you've been doing so that I can share them with the class. We want to make sure all the great work you're doing to help build your child's relationship with God is recognized.

Oh, and in case you need it, here's the D-Journal page from last week:

D-Journal

See you Sunday!

Week 11 Stuff

Hi guys!

Lots of stuff going on this week!

First of all, we started something new. Worship Journals! They're little books that the kids made that you can use to help them understand the idea of worshipping God.

In case you need help understanding how to use them, I made a little video that you can watch:



You can also download the Worship Journal documents here:

Instructions - Contains instructions on how to use, as well as a list of all of the Bible verses for the week (as well as space to record any thoughts that you want to share together)

Activity Sheet - This is the page that the kids cut up to make the Worship Journal


We also watched a new video that talked about prayer. You can watch it here:



We also had several kids bring in stuff for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes! The shoeboxes at the front of church are being taken in this week. BUT, if you still have stuff that you want to bring in, we're collecting items in class this Sunday. So this is your last chance to bring stuff in! Don't forget!

Finally, we had Sharin Moznette come in to class and talk about the Open Arms ministry in India. We learned about the kids in India that we're supporting and some of the needs that they have. Next week, we're going to start something new (similar to Blanket Month from last year), to help raise money for items that the kids in India need. I'll have all the details for you this Sunday. We're also going to be getting ready to start another new project for Advent: a service based Advent calendar! So you can look forward to that!

Lots of stuff going on, so if you have any questions or anything, feel free to call or email me.

See you Sunday!

Oh, by the way, you can download the D-Journal page for this week here:

D-Journal

Week 10 Stuff

Hi!

Week 10 was a great week for us. Our class successfully filled up our D-Point bin for a third time. This means that at our end of the quarter celebration, we will be having DONUTS as well as CHOCOLATE MILK! Yay!

We also learned about Joseph and all the stuff that happened to him in Egypt. We talked about how God was able to take the bad things that Joseph's brothers did to him and use them to make great things happen. To illustrate this, we did an activity where we took a picture of a trash can and used our imagination and creativity to turn it into something beautiful. You can download a copy of this activity from here.

We talked a little bit about Operation Christmas Child. There are a couple of ways that you guys can participate in this great service opportunity. You can get a shoebox and fill it full of stuff and bring it to church on Sunday. Or you can buy some items to help fill up our class shoeboxes. Or both! The shoeboxes that are being stacked up at the front of church are due this coming up Sunday (the 15th). But if you're not able to get your shoeboxes done in time, you can bring shoeboxes into our class up until the 22nd.

Finally, we also watched a short video that talked about how God can take the bad things that happen to us and use them for His good purposes.

Here are the handouts from this week:

D-Journal

Hmmm

Explore

Memory Verse (ok, this was supposed to be with last week's, but I forgot to add it in...)

See you Sunday!

Week 10 Video

This week in class, we talked about Joseph and all the things that happened to him in Egypt. We also talked about how God was always with Joseph, no matter what happened to him. God was able to use the bad things that Joseph's brothers did to him to do great things.

I made a little video to help illustrate the point that God can take our bad situations and use them for His good purposes. Here's what we watched in class:

By the way, in the video, we mention 'Operation Christmas Child'. Don't forget to get your shoeboxes into class! You can fill up your own shoeboxes, or bring items in to help fill up our classroom shoeboxes. Or both!

Week 9 Handouts

Hi guys!

Here are the week 9 handouts:

D-Journal

Hmmm

Explore

Week 7/8 Handouts

Hi guys!

Yes, I'm behind on getting my handouts online...again...

Hopefully, once soccer is over and everyone is done being sick, I'll be able to stay on top of things a little better.

Anyhow, here are the handouts

Week 7 Hmmm

Week 7 Explore

Week 7 D-Journal

Week 8 Hmmm

Week 8 Explore

Week 8 D-Journal

Week 5/Week 6 Handouts

Whoops! Just realized that I never got Week 5's handouts up. Sorry about that!

Here are the handouts for Weeks 5 and 6:

Week 5 Hmmm

Week 5 Explore

Week 5 D-Journal

Week 6 Hmmm

Week 6 Explore

Week 6 D-Journal

Fall Memory Verse 2

If I forget to post these and you need them, feel free to call or email me and I can send them do you.

Prayer List Update

This week in Sunday School, we made a Prayer List for our class. I just wanted to add one thing to it. One of last year's 2nd graders, Brenden (now a 3rd grader), is having back surgery tomorrow (Monday). Please pray for him and his family this week.

Thanks!

Week 4 Handouts

Hi everyone!

Sorry this is so late in the week. Here are the handouts from last Sunday's class:

D-Journal

Hmmm

Explore

And I was able to get a bunch of folders for the D-Books! So if your child received a D-Book, but no folder inside, let me know and I'll get them one.

See you Sunday!

D-Books

Hi guys!

Last week, we handed out Bibles to the kids in class who signed up for the Free Bible Offer. Yay!

I was supposed to give them their D-Books at the same time, but I left the D-Book stuff at home. Boo!

Well, I'm going to try and make sure to remember it this Sunday. Here's a video giving a brief overview about how the D-Books are used in our class.

Note: In the video, I reference a folder that they can put their in-class activities in. I don't actually have the folders yet, and am going to try and find some this weekend. So as long as they haven't all been clearanced out yet at the office supply stores, we'll have them. Unfortunately, I found out last year that, if it's not August, it can be hard to find large quantities of those kinds of folders.

I also referenced some sheets that go in the D-Book. These will be inside the D-Book when your child gets it. I will also have them available for download on this weblog next week.

By the way, I just wanted to emphasize again that the take-home pages are not the same as Sunday School homework. Nothing bad will happen if your family doesn't use them. The After Church, Hmmm, and Explore pages are there as tools to help you in teaching your kids about God. If you have other resources you like better, please feel free to use those instead. In fact, you could even have your child bring them into class and share them with everyone else!

The only thing that I'd really like you to fill out is the D-Journal page, just so we can keep track as a class about how we're doing with our Discipleship Goals.

See you Sunday!

Week 3 Handouts

Hi guys!

This week we learned about Creation and the Fall. We talked about a couple of new important words: CORRUPTION and RESTORATION.

We even got to see a video giving an example of RESTORATION. Here it is in case you want to check it out:

Here are the Week 3 handouts in case you guys need them:

D-Journal

Hmmm

Explore

See you Sunday!

Chris K

Week 2 Handouts

Hi everyone!

We had a great Week 2 of class! Here are the handouts in case you need them:

D-Journal

Hmmm

Explore

Memory Verse 1

I haven't had a chance to make the D-Book video yet, but I'll try and get it done as soon as I can so that you know how to use the D-Books.

See you Sunday!

Welcome!

Hi! Welcome to our Faith Explorers Sunday School weblog! You can come here each week to get class updates, download take-home pages, or find out helpful information about how our class works.

This video gives an overview of the types of things we do in class, how we learn about the Bible, and fun things like 'D-Points' and 'D-Journals'. It also references a couple of items that were handed out last Sunday, the 'Free Bible Offer' form (which you can download here) and the 'Discipleship Goals' form (which you can download here).

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to ask! And thanks so much for the opportunity to share God's Word with your kids!