Faith Explorers Sunday School

Spring Kids Hoops

2010-06-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hey! For those of you who had kids in the Spring Kids Hoops program, I finally got the totals in. We were able to raise $169.48 for the kids in the Open Arms ministry in India. Praise God!

End of the Year!

2010-06-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

It's almost over! This coming up Sunday will be the last week of class! It went by so quickly!

This quarter, the kids filled up their D-Point bucket 5 times. That means that we'll be having DONUTS at our end of the year celebration. Yay!

I will be handing out Discipleship Awards this week. Make sure that I know what you guys have been up to with your Discipleship Goals so that I can share them with a class. I want to make sure that the kids know how important your weekly Discipleship habits are by presenting them with a special award.

Also, if you have a 2nd grader, let me know if you're coming to class. I have special 'graduation' awards for my 2nd graders.

In other news, with summer coming, we will once again be starting up our SUNDAY SCHOOL DONUT STORE! This year, we will be trying to raise $300 to get a flannel board set for the kids in the Open Arms ministry in India. That means we need to sell over 600 donuts! The Donut Store is a great way for families to work TOGETHER to help people who need help. If you're interested in helping out, please contact me as soon as you can. We'll need kids and grownups to help pass out flyers, pass out donuts, set up/take down tables and chairs, and other jobs as well. You can sign up for a single Sunday or multiple Sundays. We will be starting in mid July this year. This really is a fantastic family ministry opportunity!

Once again, it's been a great year! You guys have amazing kids!

Discipleship Awards

2010-05-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

It's almost the end of the year! June 13th is our last Sunday School class. That means that it's almost time for Discipleship Awards!

If you and your child have been working hard on your Discipleship Goals, please let me know so that I can present them with an award on June 13th.

Also, if you have a 2nd grader, PLEASE let me know if they will be attending class on June 13th. I have a special graduation award for all of the 2nd graders that will be moving up to the 3rd grade class in the fall.

We will be having our end of the year party on June 13th. I have a special activity planned. The kids have filled up their D-Point bin 4 times already, so we'll be having donuts. If they can fill it up 2 more times, we'll also be having chocolate milk!

Thanks again for the opportunity to minister to your kids! It has been a great year!

New Testament/Old Testament

2010-05-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks, our class has been playing games to help learn the structure of the Bible. Here's one of the games that we did 2 Sundays ago. The game is called 'Old Testament/New Testament'. I gave the kids a Bible verse and they had to figure out if it was from the Old Testament or the New Testament. They did really well! Think you can do as good as your kids? Try it out for yourself:

1. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

2. But the angel said to them,

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy.

It is for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.

He is Christ the Lord.

3. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth

4. The Lord is my shepherd. He gives me everything I need.

He lets me lie down in fields of green grass.

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He gives me new strength.

He guides me in the right paths for the honor of his name.

5. At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee. John baptized him in the Jordan River

6. So David won the fight against Goliath with a sling and a stone. He struck the Philistine down and killed him. He did it without even using a sword.

7. Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk.”

8. That same night I will pass through Egypt. I will strike down every oldest son…And I will judge all of the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.

The blood on your houses will be a sign for you. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No deadly plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

9. Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark with your whole family. I know that you are a godly man among the people of today”

10. I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned.

Answers

1. John 3:16 OT

2. Luke 2:10-11 NT

3. Genesis 1:1 OT

4. Psalm 23:1-3 OT

5. Mark 1:9 NT

6. 1 Samuel 17:50 OT

7. Acts 3:6 NT

8. Exodus 12:12-13 OT

9. Genesis 7:1 OT

10. Colossians 1:1 NT

Acts

2010-05-21T16:18:00.001-07:00

Over the past few weeks, we've been studying Acts. We're learning about God's AMAZING, UNSTOPPABLE power!

Here are a couple of movies that we've watched that help illustrate what we've been learning.

Holy Week

2010-03-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

This coming up Sunday is Palm Sunday! We actually learned all about Palm Sunday on Week 2. Last week (Week 3), we read about the Last Supper and had Communion together. We were even able to watch a video that talked about how Jesus wants us to serve others. You can see it here:

For the next 2 weeks, we'll be learning about the Most Important Part of the Bible, when Jesus died on the Cross and then rose again! As usual, we will be doing the palm frond craft this week because Palm Sunday just wouldn't be the same without a palm leaf made out of green construction paper.

A couple of things that I need to talk about are our end of the quarter party and our Discipleship Awards. Last quarter, our class earned enough D-Points to get donuts and chocolate milk at our end of the quarter party (Yay!). We will be having our party on Easter Sunday. It will be a combination class party and Easter celebration. I will also be handing out Discipleship Awards at this time. If you and your kids have been doing a great job at home with your Discipleship Goals, be sure to let me know! That way I can make sure that they get a Discipleship Award on Easter. The easiest thing to do is to write me an email letting me know what kinds of things you guys are doing at home to fulfill your Discipleship Goals. On Easter, I'll share this with the class when I present your child's award.

Also, there will be more services than usual on Easter Sunday. Our class will be meeting during the 8:30 service! So if your child wants to participate in our party and receive their Discipleship Award, make sure you come to the right service! If you can't attend the 8:30 service, but still want your child to receive an award, let me know and I can present it to them during the following Sunday.

See you Sunday!

Jana Alyara

2010-03-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

Some of you guys had asked about the songs we sing in class. Most of the music that we use is from Jana Alayra. I was able to see her in concert a few years ago, and thought she was great.

The songs we sing are mainly from her Look Out Now album and her Believin' On album. You can listen to her songs here.

Some of our favorites are Flyin' for the Lord (from Look Out Now) and Everybody Get Walkin' (from Believin' On).

If you're in the market for some Christian kids music, Jana Alarya has some great stuff.

Apologies!

2010-03-23T15:45:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated this in so long! We started up Countryside Kids Hoops in the winter and things got pretty busy!

Anyhow, I'm going to try and be better with my updates. One thing though...I won't be able to link to downloadable class handouts for a while. For now, I'll keep any extra copies in the classroom, so you can stop by church and pick them up during the week if you want. Or, you can also email me and I'll send any documents that you need to you.

Christmas Updates

2009-12-31T14:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-18T09:16:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

Hi guys!

Here are the week 9 handouts:

D-Journal

Hmmm

Explore

Week 7/8 Handouts

2009-10-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

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 5/Week 6 Handouts

2009-10-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

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

Here are the handouts for Weeks 5 and 6:

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

2009-10-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-02T17:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

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

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!

2009-09-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

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!