KFC Activity Book

How to use Activity Book

This Activity book was created with the purpose of giving KFC couple coordinators a resource of activities to do during KFC meetings. By having this activity book, we hope to make it easier for you to come up with ideas to help our KFC follow the 7 core virtues (Prayerful, Loving, Obedient, Respectful, Diligent, Generous, and Helpful). We encourage you to look through the activities to become familiar with them. When you are planning for a meeting, we encourage you to pray and discern what message God wants the kids to learn that month, read through the activities that go with that message, and then discern if the activity will work with the kids you have. If there are small things that you need to change in the activity to make it more applicable to the kids you are working with, then please pray about it, and change as necessary, as long as you do not compromise any of the virtues taught.  

Tips for using the Activity Book

• Every meeting should begin and end with a prayer. Either closing or opening prayer should include kids praise songs (both if possible)
• There is no schedule included because depending on what kind of meeting it is, and what amount of time you have, the schedule may be different.
• If you have more time in your meeting, you may want to also include an icebreaker game. Some ideas for ice breaker games can be found in the Ice Breaker section.
• Also included is some Developmental Material. This may help you to know what is appropriate behavior for the different age groups.
• The Objectives of each meeting are the reasons for doing that meeting. You should always make sure that each objective is met, or discerned that it is not needed at that time.
• The Junior kids and Senior kids activities are separate because of the different needs of different aged children. As much as possible keep the junior and senior kids activities separated, but we encourage that you stick to the same theme so that, especially for siblings, they will go home with the same message.
• For the Junior kids we encourage keeping them in one large group. The questions are meant to be like a talk for them, but keep it interactive.  
• For the Senior kids, we encourage spliting them into small groups for discussion (brothers and sisters separate) headed by a yfc. The senior kids can then share more deeply about things they might be going through. The senior kids can also be encouraged to share in front of the large group.
• The order of the activities is also to be discerned. If you find that it is more effective to tell the story before doing the activity for the kids, then do it that way.
• For the junior kids Story, do not just read the story. Be creative with presenting it. Act it out, draw pictures, use props, use a puppet, use different voices.
• For the senior kids Talk, it would be preferred that a YFC give the talk, but make sure that the YFC is dynamic and interacts with the kids. The questions asked in the talk, can also be asked to the kids. 

1. Diligent-LOVING LEARNING

“I guide you in the way of wisdom

and lead you along straight paths.”

-Proverbs 4:11

Objectives

• For the kids to learn about their family history
• To teach the kids that learning is important
• To teach kids that learning can be fun

Song

“Be Bold, Be Strong”

Preparation

Before you do the activity, have the parents fill out information about the kid’s grandparents. Pick one grandparent per kid. (Parents can use different grandparents for siblings)

What is the full name of my grandparent?

Where was my grandparent born?

How old is my grandparent?

When is my grandparent’s birthday?

Where did my grandparent go to school?

What is/was my grandparent’s job?

How many siblings does my grandparent have?

How many children does my grandparent have?

What is something my grandparent really likes?

Junior Kids

Materials

·         Paper

·         Crayons

Activity

Based on the information that they found out about their grandparents, have each kid draw a picture of what they think their grandparent looked like when they were a kid.

Story

Have one of the YFC talk to their grandparent and find out an interesting story about when their grandparent was a child. Have the YFC tell the story as if it happened to them. At the end, tell the kids that the story really happened to their grandparent.

Questions

·         What did you learn today about your grandparents?

·         Did you like learning new things about your family?

·         Where else do we get to learn new things?

·         When we are given the opportunity to learn new things, should we be excited to learn them?

·         Why is it important to learn new things?

·         What can we do to make sure that we learn something new every day?

Senior Kids

Materials

• Information about the years that the kid’s grandparents were born in (you can split it up into 1950’s, 1960’s or you can find information about each year)
• Paper
• Markers

Activity

Give each child the information that their parents filled out about their grandparents. Have them figure out the year that their grandparent was born by their grandparent’s age. Give each child the information about that year. Give each child a sheet of paper. Have them write their grandparent’s name in the middle. Have them write around the name, 5 things that they found out about their grandparents or about when their grandparents were born that they found interesting. Have the kids present their papers.

Talk

1. Why is it important to learn about the past?
   
   1. We learn about the past so that we can find out new things and learn from the experiences of others.

                                          i.    If they made mistakes in the past, we don’t want to make the same mistakes

2. We learn new things everyday.
3. Even when we are not in school, our parents teach us new things all the time
4. What kinds of new things do we learn from our parents?
1. Why is it important to learn new things?
   
   1. God blessed us with minds that want to know more. He made us naturally curious about things (just watch a baby for a while, they look at everything with curiosity)
   2. We want to be the best person we can be, and part of that is learning new things
   3. There are so many things to learn. We will never know everything, but we want to know as much as we can
   4. We can teach our friends and little brothers and sisters all the new things we have learned.
2. How can we make sure we learn new things?
   
   1. Listen to our parents when they are trying to teach us something
   2. Listen and pay attention in school
   3. Do our homework, even if we already know how to do the assignments, we need to practice to become good at it

                                          i.    If we are good at reading, why not become better at reading

4. Learn on your own.

                                          i.    Read books

                                         ii.    When you have a question about something ask

Discussion Questions

• What did you learn today?
• How can you be a better learner in the future?

Take it Home

Think of something that you want to learn more about (an animal, a certain country, or your other grandparents) and learn about it! Go to the library or search on the internet with your parents

2. Diligent-TIME

“Work hard and cheerfully at all you do,

just as though you were working for the Lord

-Colossians 3: 23

Objectives

• Allow the kids to realize the importance of perseverance and hard work to be able to achieve the things they want in life.

Junior Kids

Materials

• Activity Cards from below cut

Activity

Split the kids into groups of 3-4. Give each group a set of the activity cards. Have them try to put them in order to make a story. Have the kids tell the group the story that they camp up with to match the cards. Read the Story below. Then have the kids put the cards in the correct order to match the story.

Story

      One day when I got home from school I could smell something. Something that smelled great! I went into the kitchen to see what it was. My mom was making cookies! She asked me if I wanted to help her make them. She was just about to make a new batch. I love making cookies. First mom had me get all the ingredients out. We needed sugar, flour, baking soda, vanilla, and lots of other good stuff. She had me measure all the ingredients and put them into a bowl. I mixed them with a big spoon. When we had all the ingredients mixed, my mom had me roll the dough out on the table. I had to use lots of flour to make sure that the dough didn’t stick to the table. She gave me some fun cookie cutters to cut the dough with. I put them on a cookie sheet and then she helped me put them into the oven. When they were baking I could smell them. I couldn’t wait to eat them. When they were ready, my mom took them out of the oven. We waited for them to cool and put them onto a plate. Then we got to eat them!!

Questions

• Does it matter what order you put the pictures in?
• What if you would have baked the cookies before putting the ingredients in?
• Sometime we have to do things in a specific order, what other things do we do in a specific order?
• Some things are more important than others, and so they need to be done first. What things are important to us, that we should make sure we do first?

Senior Kids

Materials 

• 2 clear bowls or buckets
• Pebbles and Big rocks enough to fill each bowl

                 

Activity

Divide the group into two: Group A and Group B. Distribute the materials to each of the groups. For GROUP A, have them first put the pebbles in and then the rocks. Instruct them that everything has to fit. For GROUP B, instruct them to put the big rocks in the bowl first, followed by the pebbles.

Processing the activity

Who had an easier time getting their rocks to fit in the bowl? Why was it easier? The difference between Group A and B’s result is the ORDER which the rocks and pebbles were placed in the bowl.  If you put the pebbles in first, the big rocks don’t all fit.  But if you put the big rocks in first, everything fits, big rocks and pebbles.

Talk

1. What is the meaning of the experiment?
   
   1. Big rocks represent your most important things. God, Family, School
   2. Pebbles represent all the little things everyday that eat up your time, such chores, phone calls and interruptions.
2. If you don’t do your big rocks first, they won’t get done.
   
   1. We need to make sure we get the important things done first.
   2. If you block out time for your big rocks first, the other everyday activities will fit in as well.  And even if they don’t, it’s alright because you would rather push aside pebbles than big rocks.
3. Why is it important to plan our time?
   
   1. Sometimes when we get caught up doing something, we forget all the important things we need to do.
   2. We usually have more than enough time to get everything done in a day, we just need to do first what is most important.
4. How can we do this
   
   1. When you have a lot of things to do, make a list. Put the most important things on the top and make sure you do them first.

                                               

Discussion Group Questions

·         How do you use your time wisely?

·         What are some unimportant things you spend a lot of time doing?

Take it Home

Write down 5 important things you want to do this week. Make sure you get them all done before doing the unimportant things.

***Reference

Covey, Sean. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. (1998) Fireside, New York

pages 114-115

3. Diligent-You Can Do It!

“For to everyone who has, more shall be given,

and he will have an abundance”

–Matthew 25:29

Objectives

• To show to the children the importance of valuing one's talent
• To let the children use their talents in God’s Glory
• To let the children appreciate other talents as well

Junior Kid

Materials

• Paper
• Pipe Cleaners
• String
• Dry noodles
• Glue
• Tape
• Other craft materials

Activity

Split the kids into groups of 2 or 3. Give each child a bag of assorted craft materials. Tell them to use those materials to make something better (they may make a necklace, some sort of art, or something useful). Have them show their art to the group. Make the point that each of them were given ordinary things, but as they worked with them, they became beautiful and better. The same is with our talents. When we work at our talents, they become better and we can use them to glorify God.

Story

The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)

There was a master of many servants. He was going out of town so he gave some of his money to his servants before he left. To one servant he gave 5 coins, to another 2 coins and to another 1 coin. The servant, who had 5 coins, used the coins to make 5 more coins. So when the master came back, he was able to give him 10 coins. The master was very pleased. The servant, who got 2 coins, also used his 2 coins and made 2 more coins. When the master got back he was able to give him 4 coins and the master was very pleased. Now the servant, who got one coin, was afraid that he would loose it, so he buried it in the ground. When the master came back he dug up the coin and gave it back to the master. The master was very disappointed that he was not able to use the coin that he gave him. Instead of using the coin he was given, the servant buried it.

Questions

• How many servants were mentioned in the story?
• What did the master give them?
• What did the first servant do? What did he gain?
• What did the second servant do? What did he gain?
• What did the third servant do? What did he gain?
• When we hide our talents we are not able to grow. If we use our talents, they turn into many more talents, just like the coins. How can we use the talents God gave us?
• When we share our talents and do our best, how does God reward us?

Senior Kids

Materials

• Guitar
• CD player
• CD of any song
• Large paper
• Art Supplies
• Newspapers

Activity

Give the kids a choice of 4 groups. Song, Dancing, Art, Fashion.

1.     Song: Give the kids a song to learn. Have a YFC lead them in learning the song. Have them think of musical instruments that they can use (tambourine, shakers).

2.     Dance: Give the kids a song to make a dance to. Have a YFC lead to make sure that all the moves are of a Christian nature.

3.     Art: Give the kids a large piece of paper and art supplies. Have them make the most beautiful mural that they can. The theme should be Kids sharing talents.

4.     Fashion: Give the kids newspapers. Ask them to use the newspapers to make outfits for 2 people in their group.

In all groups stress that they should give the best performance that they can. Give them a time limit, and then have them perform.

Talk

1. What talents do we have?
   
   1. We all have blessings from God.

                                          i.    Maybe we can sing, dance, draw, good at school, good at helping, we make people smile, tell jokes, run fast, etc.

2. But are we using our talents? What are we using them for?
   
   1. We should be using the talents we have, practicing them so that we can become better at them.
   2. We should also be practicing those things we are not good at so that we can become better at them

                                          i.    If we have trouble dancing, we can practice

                                         ii.    If we have trouble in school, we should work hard at it

3. When we practice our talents, God gives us blessings
   
   1. Parable of the Talents: Matthew 25:14-30
   2. Likewise, if we have a talent and don’t use it, it will go away.
4. What are we using our talents for?
   
   1. We should be using out talents to glorify God, not ourselves.
   2. God gave us the talents, so we should thank him
   3. Whenever possible we should use our talents for God

                                          i.    Sing in church

                                         ii.    Be an alter server

                                        iii.    Dance for KFC

                                        iv.    When we play sports, show that you are a good sport

Discussion Questions

• Share to the group one thing you want to be when you grow up.
• What are the things you need to do to get there? What talents do you need to practice?

Take it home

Make a list of the things that you want to achieve (what you want to be when you grow up, things you want to do). Post this on your wall and Pray that God will help you in achieving these goals. 

4. Deligent-HAVE THE BEST FINISH

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,

 immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord”

 -1 Corinthians 15:58

Objectives

• To teach the kids that we should do our best at all time
• To teach the kids that we should finish what we started

Junior Kids

Activity

Have all the kids sit in a circle. Go around the circle counting 1 to 30. Except when you get to a number that has a 3, 6, or a 9 in it, don’t say the number just clap. (1, 2, clap, 4, 5, clap, 7…) Keep counting until you get to 30. If someone messes up, start over again.

Story

The Tortoise and the Hare

Once there was a turtle and a rabbit. They were both entered in a race. Now the turtle was very slow, but the rabbit was very fast. Still the turtle was determined to finish the race. When the race started the rabbit ran off, and the turtle made his slow way to the finish line. The rabbit, seeing that he was so far ahead decided he should get a snack to eat. So he took a break for a snack. He laughed and joked while having a snack, he almost didn’t notice that the turtle had caught up with him. When the rabbit noticed the turtle was close, he again ran off.

After a little while, the rabbit again noticed that he was very far ahead and decided that he could take a little rest under the tree. Meanwhile the turtle was making his way slowly, and had caught up to the rabbit. He saw the rabbit sleeping under the tree, but kept going to the finish line.

When the rabbit woke up, he heard all the other animals cheering. The turtle was almost at the finish line! The rabbit ran as fast as he could to get there, but the turtle had already won the race!

Questions

·         Why didn’t the rabbit win the race?

·         How did the turtle win the race?

·         How can we be like the turtle?

·         Why is it important to finish what we started?

·         When should we finish what we started?

·         When we do our chores, should we just do the job, or should we do our best?

Senior Kids

Activity

      Have all the kids sit in a circle. Go around the circle counting 1 to 100. Except when you get to a number that has a 3, 6, or a 9 in it, don’t say the number just clap. (1, 2, clap, 4, 5, clap, 7…) If the number has two 3, 6, or 9s clap twice (For 33, 36, 39 clap twice). Keep counting until you get to 100. If someone messes up, start over again.

Talk

1.     First ask the kids how they felt during the game. Then ask them how they felt when they finished the game.

2.     When we have a job to do, we need to be diligent to finish

3.     What does diligent mean?

a.     It means that we keep trying until we finish.

b.    Even if we fail at it many many times, we have to keep trying

                                                  i.    When Einstein was inventing the light bulb he tried over 10,000 ways first. Every time that he failed he got closer to an answer. He knew that way didn’t work.

c.     Even if we get frustrated, if we have a job to do we have to finish.

4.     It isn’t enough just to finish

a.     We have to do our best the whole way. If we take breaks or take short cuts that is not being diligent.

5.     What if we can’t finish?

a.     If we are given a task, that we can not finish, then we do our best, and we try our hardest. That’s what really counts.

6.     How can we be more diligent?

a.     To be diligent we need to try our best at everything we do.

b.    School work, don’t just to the minimum that is required, do all that you can to learn more

c.     Chores. When you make your bed, don’t just throw the top cover over, make the whole bed.

Discussion Questions

• When was the last time that you were given a task that was really difficult for you
• How did you finish it?

Take it Home

Do all of your homework and chores as soon as you can. And then rest and play when you are finished. 

5. Generous-Being Grateful

“In everything give thanks;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

-1 Thessalonians 5:18

Objectives

• To teach the kids to appreciate their blessings in life
• For the Kids to express their gratitude toward other people through carrying out specific deeds

Junior Kids

Materials

• Large Paper
• Art Materials
• Printed Activity Sheet

Activity

Each kid will be given art materials to create his/her own calendar. This will be called the “Thankful Calendar”. Have an example on hand of what a calendar looks like. Have a space on the calendar that can be filled out each day. In each space the kid could write one thing they are thankful for.  Have them write what they are thankful for today in the first spot on the calendar.

Story

Write your own story. Have the Children fill out the page below and then share with the group.

Questions

• What are you thankful for?
• Why should we be thankful for what we have?
• How can we show others we are thankful for what they do?

Senior Kids

Materials

• 8 sheets of paper for each child
• Art Materials

Activity

Give each kid 8 pieces of paper. Have them stack the pieces of paper and fold them (making a book). On the outside of the book have them write “thankful journal”. Have the kids number the pages 1-30 (or the number of days until your next meeting). Allow the kids time to decorate their thankful journals. Have each child list 5 things that they are thankful for today on day 1.

Poem

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings

Discussion Questions

• What simple blessings do we usually take for granted?
• How can we show appreciation to God?
• How can we share the blessings we have to other people?   

Take it Home

Bring the calendar home and fill out the spaces for each day. Bring your finished calendar next time.

I am thankful for ________________________

Because__________________________________

__________________________________________

I want to say thank you to _________________

Because__________________________________

__________________________________________

6. Generous-I WANT THAT

Trust in the Lord and do good,

Then you will live in the land and enjoy its food,

Find your delight in the Lord

Then He will give you everything your heart really wants.

- Psalm 37:3-5

Objectives

• Share a story entitled “I Want That” written by Patricia Rust.
• Process the story by using the guide questions.
• Allow the kids to realize the value and essence of generosity.
• Encourage the kids to participate in the activities and listen attentively to the speaker.

Junior Kids

Materials

• A strip of cloth or handkerchief or a blindfold
• Obstacles (tables, chairs, etc.)

Activity

Ask the kids to look for a partner. The kids will be working in pairs. One kid will be blindfolded. The other kid, the partner, will spin the blindfolded kid around to make him/her unfamiliar of his/her position. The partner will guide the blindfolded kid cross the obstacles and reach the goal using only his/her voice to direct his/her partner. After reaching the goal, partners will switch roles. The blindfolded kid will be the guide and vice versa.

Processing the activity

1. How did you like the activity? Was it fun, tiring, difficult, easy, exciting, etc.?

2. What are the difficulties you encountered while doing the activity?

3. Do you think your partner can reach the goal with less time and less difficulty without your help?

Story

I Want That

by Patricia Rust

Tara was smart enough, but she had one bad habit. She would point to toys and say “ I want that”. This happened at toy stores, grocery stores and friends’ homes. “I want that”.

This drove her older brother crazy. “She wants everything!” shouted Eric. “Why? Where will she put it all?”

Tara drove her best friend crazy too. Samira was happy to let Tara play with her toys, but before long, Tara would say, “I want that.” And if Samira came to play at Tara’s house, Tara would say, “That’s mine. Don’t touch it.”

Samira and Eric were worried. “I don’t think Tara is going to have any friends if she keeps this up” said Eric. “I know” agreed Samira. “I want to be her friend, but it’s hard. She wants everything and shares nothing”.

Then Eric and Samira had an idea. They hid all of Tara’s toys, stuffed animals and games in the closet. When Tara came home and saw her room empty, she screamed, “Where’s all my stuff?”

“Stuff? Oh, that. Well, you had so much and still wanted more, so we gave your stuff to kids who really need it.”

Tara didn’t know what to say. “That was my stuff! How could you give it away?” she cried.

“How could you not play with it and still want more?” asked Eric. “Some kids are lucky to have one teddy bear. You had 13!” added Samira.

Eric opened the closet and showed Tara that all her things were there. “We would never really give away your stuff” he said. “But you have more than enough, and we had to let you know it.”

Tara thought about it. “You guys are right. I do have enough. Help me sort out my favorites and I’ll give the rest to kids who don’t have toys”.

Eric smiled at Samira. “I guess I thought people would like me better if I had the most toys” said Tara.

“Everyone will like you,” said Samira, “if you’re kind and caring and giving”.

“Hmmm,” said Tara, “I want that.”

Color the activity sheet and complete the sentence provided under the picture.

Jesus Feeds 5000

I am a generous kid because ______________________

______________________________________________

Name: ____________________________________

Senior Kids

Materials

• A strip of cloth or handkerchief or a blindfold
• Obstacles (tables, chairs, etc.)

Activity

Same as the Junior Kids above, but make the obstacles harder and more age appropriate. You could also do the activity pairing up a Junior Kid with a Senior Kid.

Talk

1. Sharing what you have to other people who do not have.
   
   1. In the activity, the blindfolded person lacked his/her sense of vision or eyesight and you, as the partner, are capable of guiding your partner.
   2. While guiding your partner, you are unconsciously sharing what you have (your sight) as your partner navigate through the obstacles.
   3. Introduce to the kids various symbolisms used in the activity: Blindfolded person is the person in need; the guide is the person who willingly shares what he/she has; and the obstacles are the difficulties and hardships.
2. Defining Generosity
   
   1. Generosity is the habit of giving or willingness to give.
   2. A generous man is blessed by God. (2 Corinthian 9:5-9)
   3. The Bible tells us to share generously with those in need, and good things will come to us in turn.
3. An Example of a Generous Kid
   
   1. Read the story “I Want That”
   2. Ask the kids on how Tara, a character in the story, learned about generosity and how she willingly shared her toys.
4. Showing Generosity
   
   1. Each of us has something to give. Some have wealth, some have talents, some have time. Whatever gifts we have been given -- large or small -- we should share generously. When we do, we make the world better for someone else and find true meaning and satisfaction in our own lives.
   2. There are so many ways to be generous. Some of these are donating old clothes and goods to victims of disasters, giving old toys to poor children, participating in school fund drives, saving money for GK.
   3. Our good deeds should be motivated by a sincere desire to help others. Public recognition should not be the goal.

Discussion Questions

·         What are the new insights you learned about generosity?

·         Was there a time in your life when you showed generosity to other people? How did you feel about it? Share it to the group.

Take it Home

Look for a thing or things that you do not use/need and give it to someone who needs it.

***REFERENCES

http://www.powerforkids.com/stories/IWantThat.html

http://www.ibs.org/bibles/adventures/pdf/LivingTheStory_Reader_05.pdf

http://www.ibs.org/bibles/adventures/index.php http://www.ibs.org/bibles/adventures/pdf/LivingTheStory_Reader_05.pdf http://www.twopaths.com/generosi.htm

http://applesaucekids.com/Coloring/BillLaza/Feed5000.html

7. Generous-The Giving Me

“Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart,

 not grudgingly or under compulsion,

for God loves a cheerful giver.”

-2 Corinthians 9:7

Objectives

• To realize the importance of giving
• To be generous to the people around them
• To help them be aware of the importance of sharing

Junior Kids

Materials

• Puzzle
• Baskets/bags

Activity

Make a puzzle with the picture of a boy and a tree (you can make it on paper) The puzzle pieces will be in two baskets/bags. The children will take one puzzle piece from each basket/bag. They will help each other to finish the puzzle.

Story

The Giving Tree

Once there was a tree who loved a little boy. And everyday the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples and they would play hide and go seek and when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree… very much. And the tree was happy. But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often left alone.

Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, “Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy”. “I am too big to climb and play” said the boy. “I want to buy thing and have fun. I want some money. Can you give me some money?” I’m sorry” said the tree, “but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in city. Then you will have money and you’ll be happy”. And so the boy climb up the tree and gathered her apples. And carried them away and the tree was happy. But the boy stayed away for a long time… And the tree was sad.

And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with joy and she said, “Come, Boy come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy”. “I am too busy to climb trees,” said the boy. “I want a house to keep me warm,” he said. “I and want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house?”. “I have no house” said the tree. The forest is my house.” said the tree but you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy. And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build a house. And the tree was happy. But the boy stayed away for a long time…And the tree was sad.

And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak. “Come, Boy” she whispered, “Come and play”. “I am too old and sad to play.” said the boy. “I want a boat that will take me away from here. Can you give me a boat?”. “Cut down my trunk and make a boat,” said the tree. Then you can sail away… And be happy.” And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sail away. And the tree was happy… but not really.

After a long time, the boy came back again. “I am sorry, Boy,” said the tree, “but I have nothing left to give you--- my apples are gone”. “My teeth are too weak for apple,” said the boy. “My branches are gone,” said the tree. “You cannot swing on them---”. “I am too old to swing on branches said the boy. “My trunks are gone,” said the tree. “You cannot climb---“. I am too tired to climb,” said the boy. “I am sorry”, sighed the tree. “I wish that I could give you something… but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry…”. I don’t need very much now” said the boy. “Just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired”. “Well” said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, “well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down and rest.”. And the boy did. And the tree was happy.

Questions:

• Who is the giving character in the story?
• What were the things that the tree gave to the boy?
• Why do you think the tree keep on helping the young boy?
• How can you be like the tree?

Individual activity

Draw in a paper the things that you can share with other people. Example: your talent of singing, dancing, etc

Senior Kids

Materials

• Crayons
• Paper

Activity

Divide the kids into groups. Each member of the group will chose one color of crayons to be used for the activity. They will now do a nature picture using only the color they chose. They have to work together and share their crayons to have a beautiful output.

Story

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

A child was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know where the best place in the world and the worst place in the world is”. ’The Lord led the child to two doors. He opened one of the doors and he looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the his mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and all of them could reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The child shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, ‘You have seen the worst place in the world.’ They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the child’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The child said, ‘I don’t understand.’ ‘It is simple,’ said the Lord. ‘It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.’

Discussion Questions:

• What is the difference between the best and the worst place in the story?
• When is a time that you think of others before yourself?
• How will you share what you have to others?

Take it Home

Share your talents (dancing, cooking, singing, writing) in activities at home, in school or in KFC.

8. Generous-THE POWER OF ONE BOY

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish,

 but how far will they go among so many?”

– John 6:9

Objectives

·         To teach the kids the value of generosity

·         To teach the kids to share with their friends

Junior Kids

Materials

·         Cookies or snacks, enough one for each kid

Story

Jesus feeds the 5,000 (John 6)

      “Here are 5 pieces of bread and two fish for your lunch son,” a mother said to her Son. The boy was on his way to hear Jesus speak. When they went to see Jesus, He was speaking to a large a crowd. Jesus said many good things. When Jesus was done speaking, the crowd was very hungry. One of Jesus’ followers came up to the boy and asked him if they could have his lunch to share it with the crowd. Even though the boy didn’t know how his small fish and 5 pieces of bread could feed all those people, He gave all of it to Jesus’ follower. Jesus blessed the bread and broke it into many pieces. He gave it to all the people. All the people had more enough to eat. All the people were fed because the one boy gave up his lunch.

Questions

·         What did the boy do with his fish and bread?

·         What did Jesus do with the fish and bread?

·         Jesus shared the food with all the people, what do you share?

·         What can we do to share with our friends?

Activity

1.   Hide the cookies in the venue

2.   Group the kids in groups of 5

3.   Allow time for the kids to go scavenging for the cookies (they are not to eat it until the activity is over.

4.   Gather the kids once all the cookies are collected.

5.   Ask the kids how can everyone have a piece (encourage them to share)

6.   Eat the cookies!

*** If there is a senior kids assembly going on at the same time you can have there be enough cookies for all the senior kids and have the junior kids share with them.

Senior Kids

Materials

·         Enough supplies to make snacks/sandwiches for all the kids

Activity

Importance of sharing

      For the kids meal that day do not make the food. Keep all the ingredients separate (for this example we are going to use peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but any snack food that has multiply ingredients can be used)

      Split the snack into 5 (example: peanut butter, bread, jelly, spoon, napkin). In a bag give each kid enough of 1 ingredient to make 5 sandwiches (example: give a kid 10 slices of bread, but don’t give them any of the other ingredients). After you give out all the ingredients, tell them to make themselves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It will be up to the kids to get together with the other kids to make a sandwich. They will have to work together and share with each other.

*** If you are having a junior kids assembly at the same time you can give them enough material to make sandwiches for the junior kids, and have them share with them.

Talk Outline

·       Generosity means "willingness to give"

·       Being generous means to give

1.   thinking of others first before yourself

2.   whether you have a lot or a little

3.   without counting the cost

·       Read John 6 (The Feeding of the five thousand)

·       How was the boy in the feeding of the five thousand generous?

1.   Thinking of others before yourself

·      Everyone of the 5000 was hungry including himself but he still gave it

·      He knew he could have gone hungry but he gave it up for others first

·      Without second thought he gave all that he had. 

2.   Whether you have a lot or a little

·      5 small loaves and 2 small fish is hardly enough to feed 5 people let alone 5000

·      It didn't matter to him how much he had but what mattered was sharing what he had to others

3.   Without counting the cost

·      He didn't ask for a reward for his act of generosity

Discussion Questions

Think of a time when you were generous.  Share about it.  Based on that experience answer the following

·         Did you think of yourself or others first?

·         Did it matter how much you had to share?

·         Did you expect a reward for being generous?

Take it Home                                          

Share something that is special to you. Give it to your brother, sister or friend.

9.  Helpful-HELP!

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but

has no pity on him, how can be the love of God be in him? Dear children,

let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth”

- 1 John 3:17, 18

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

10. Generous-LITTLE HELP

 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;

give preference to one another in honor.”

– Romans 12:10

Objectives

• To realize the importance of helping
• To help other people in their own way

Junior Kids

Story

The Little Angel who lost her wing

It was a long, hot summer and all the forest creatures were waiting for the rain to come. One day, a butterfly felt a drop of water on his wings. He flew off to tell everyone: “rain is coming! Rain is coming!” all the forest creatures looked up and eagerly waited for the rain, but none came. The butterfly went back to the place where it rained. There he found only a few drops of water on the dry earth, but these did not come from the sky. They came from a crying angel sitting on top of a big rock. They were not raindrops after all but angel tears! “Why are you crying, little angel?” the butterfly asked. “I lost one of my wings,” the angel sobbed. “I’ll never be able to fly back home.” “Where did you lose it? I can help you look for it,” the butterfly said. “I lost it in the clouds,” the angel cried. “You see, I was playing hide-and-seek with my friends. I hid inside a small cloud and my wing got wet. Before I knew it, I was already falling. If only I could call out my friends. They can help me find my wing.” “Well, why don’t we do that?” so the angel and the butterfly cried for help. “Help!” the butterfly yelled. “Help me, my friends! I have lost a wing! I’m down here in the forest!” the angel called out. Her voice was heard throughout the forest but it did not reach the skies. So she sat on the rock again, looked up and cried. The butterfly comforted her. Suddenly, they were both surprised to hear some voices. The other forest creatures came when they heard the angel’s voice. They wanted to help her, too. Under the shade of the tallest tree, the forest creatures held a council to help the angel find her wing. “Maybe she could climb up to the highest branch and call out to her friends, “They would hear her better from there.” So the angel climbed up the tree. When she reached the highest branch, she called out, “Help! I have lost a wing! I’m down here in the forest!” but the wind carried the angel’s cries away from the skies. The eagle then told the angel, “I will bear you on my back so you call go higher.” The angel and the angel flew up. But no matter how up they were, the angel’s voice did not reach her angel’s friends. The eagle comforted the weeping angel and said, “If only I could lend you my wings so you can fly higher.” The butterfly heard this and an idea instantly came to him! “Why don’t we help the angel make a new wing?!” the butterfly exclaimed. “But how?” chorused the angel and the forest creatures. The butterfly shared his plan. “The trees can give her their soft branches to shape the wing, the spiders can spin webs to fill it up, the flowers can give their petals to replace the feathers and, to stick them into the web, we ca use honey as glue!” the forest creatures all agreed that it was a great idea, But the angel said, “Thank you, but taking your branches and petals might hurt you. If I take the spider webs, where will they live? The poor bees have worked so hard to make their honey.” The tree said, “I am a strong tree, it will not hurt me. I can grow another one.” The spiders proudly said, “Our threads never run out.” The flower chorused, “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt us. We are about to shed our petals anyway.” The bees buzzed, “Oh what is honey! We have too much of it already!” The angel was overjoyed. “Thank you all. May you be blessed for the kindness you have showed me.” And so, the angel and the forest creatures built a new wing. It was already sunset when they finished the new wing.  It was not like any other angel’s wing. It had the strength of a tree branch, the lightness of spider’s web and all the colors of the spring. It smelled sweet too! “Now, it’s time to try on your new wing,” said the butterfly. The new wing fitted the little angel’s back. As soon as it was ready, she flipped it here, flapped it there, until slowly, slowly, she lifted off the ground. “I’m flying! I’m flying!” the little angel cried. “Oh thank you so much! Thanks for your help!” the wing glistened in the setting sun as the angel flew higher and higher until she disappeared in the orange sky. The next day the butterfly went back to the rock where he met the little angel. He missed his friend. Suddenly, a big fat drop of water fell on his wing. He looked up to see where it came from. It came from the sky! “Rain is coming! Rain is coming!”. Indeed, the rain had come. The whole forest rejoiced. They knew that the little angel who lost her wing had found her way back home, and sent a rain of love from the skies.

Questions:

• Who helped the little angel?
• How did the forest creatures help the angel?
• Why do you they help the angel?
• Why it is important to be a help to others?
• How can you also help those in need?

Materials

• Paper
• Markers or pens

Activity

Make a help chart. For the week write one help that you will do for the day.

If the kids are too young to write, they can draw what they will do. 

Senior Kids

Materials

• illustration boards

Activity

The group will play wood plank relay. The group will be divided into teams of 6-8 players in each group. They will be given 2 boards and they have to reach the finish line using the boards. All members should be standing on the board, no one can be standing off the board. Process the activity. How were you able to finish the game? Did you help each other? How important it is to help one another?

Talk

The Nature of Things

Two monks were washing their bowls in the river when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning. One monk immediately scooped it up and set it upon the bank. In the process he was stung. He went back to washing his bowl and again the scorpion fell in. The monk saved the scorpion and was again stung. The other monk asked him, "Friend, why do you continue to save the scorpion when you know its nature is to sting?" "Because," the monk replied, "to help save it is my nature."

It is our nature to help people. Even if we get hurt in doing so, we want to show others out love. Even though the monk knew that he was going to be stung by the scorpion, he still helped him.

Questions

• Do you have a helping nature in yourself?
• How will you use this helping nature in you?

Take it Home

Help a classmate in school (example in understanding your lesson, in carrying books).

11. Helpful- THE GOOD KID

"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor…?"

And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him."

 Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

–Luke 10:36-37

Objectives

• To teach the kids the importance of helping others
• To tell the kids why we help others

Junior Kids

Activity

Split the kids into two groups to play certain roles in a story. The first group will be the children that have a need, and the second group will be the helpers.

Story 1: Group one is walking to school. They are late for the bus and they are running (have the first group do each action as it is told) All of a sudden their backpack zipper breaks and all their books and school supplies fall on the ground. Just then group two is walking by late to the bus as well. Do you run for the bus or do you help? Have them act out what they would do.

Story 2: Group one was told by their mom that they had to clean their room. While Group one is cleaning the room. Group 2 comes into the room and sees that Group one is cleaning the room all by themselves. Group two was about to go outside to play. What should group 2 do?

*Other stories can be told

Story

Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37)

One day a Samaritan man was walking on the road. Out of the bushes, some robbers came and stole all his money and beat him up. The man was badly hurt and was lying on the road. A judge was walking by that way and saw him lying the road, but the judge was on his was to an important meeting and didn’t have time to help the man, so he just walked by. Then a priest came by. The priest was busy and also just passed by the man. Next a Samaritan man was walking down the road. He saw the man in the road, but the man in the road was Jewish, and at that time Samaritans and Jewish people did not get along. But the Jewish man saw that the Samaritan man needed help. So he helped the man and took him to the closest Inn. He asked the keeper at the Inn to take care of them and gave the keeper enough money to do so.

Questions

• Who was a better friend to the man? The judge, the priest or the Samaritan?
• How was the Samaritan a good friend to the man?
• What does it mean to be a good friend?
• How can we be helpful to our friends and siblings?

Senior Kids

Activity

Each kid is paired up with another kid. One partner is blindfolded. The other guides the blindfolded child through a course. (It can be walking around the room or around a playground. Make sure that there are adults around to supervise and make sure the kids are safe). Have the kids switch places. Process the activity. Ask how did you feel when you were the blindfolded one? How did it feel to be the one who was helping the blindfolded person?

Talk

1.     God calls us to be friends with one another. He calls us to help each other when we need it.

2.     Narrate the Good Samaritan story (Luke 10:29-37)

3.     Why should we help one another?

a.     Because we are all sons and daughters of God and we all deserve to be helped.

b.    Because sometimes we need help too

c.     Because as brothers and sisters in Christ, we should be like Jesus to each other

4.     How can we be helpful?

a.     We need to know when others need our help.

b.    We should be always looking out for ways to help.

c.     We should ask if we can help our teachers, parents and classmates when we see that they might need help.

Discussion Questions

·         How can you be helpful to your parents, teachers and friends?

·         How can you be more aware of when others need help?

Take it Home

Help your parents do a task at home. Ask if you can help with the household chores, cooking dinner, setting the table, cleaning.

12. Helpful-UNITY

“How good is it, how pleasant where the people dwell as one”

- Psalm 133:1

Objectives

• To teach the kids to help each other
• To discuss the importance of family unity

Junior Kids

Materials

• 10 inch piece of string or yarn

Activity

Give kids each a piece of string, and ask them to tie it around their wrists by themselves. Allow kids about a minute to attempt this. Ask:

·         Why are you having a hard time tying the string around your wrist?

·         What could you do to make it easier?

After kids have offered suggestions, tell them to find a partner. When kids have paired up, suggest they find a solution to their problem within their pairs.

Questions

·         Was it possible to tie the string on your wrist by yourself? Why or why not?

·         How did it make you feel to have your partner help you tie the string on your wrist?

·         Who can tell me what “unity” means?

·         How did this activity show unity?

·         How can we have unity in our families?

Story

Jesus lost in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)

When Jesus was a young boy, he also had a loving family. Joseph was his father, and Mary was his mother. They did many things as a family. One year they took a journey to a big town called Jerusalem for a feast called Passover. When Mary and Joseph were on their way home, they realized that Jesus was not with them. Mary thought that he was with Joseph, and Joseph thought that he was with Mary. They were very worried and went back to Jerusalem to find him. But Jerusalem was a huge city with so many people; they really thought that they had lost Jesus. Mary and Joseph decided to look in the temple, and there Jesus was. He was preaching to the teachers there. Joseph and Mary were so happy that they found Jesus. They hugged Jesus tightly, and told him how much they loved him.

Senior Kids

Materials

• Balloons

Activity

Split the kids into groups of 5-6. Ask the kids to make a big circle and hold their hands together. After every minute the facilitator will throw another balloon inside the big circle. Ask the big group to keep the balloons from touching the ground.

Talk

1. Could any of us have done that activity by ourselves?
   
   1. We might have been able to do it, but we would have had much fewer balloons in the air and it would have been much harder.
   2. We need each other sometimes.
   3. God put us on this earth with many other people so that we can help each other.
2. What does the word Unity mean?
   
   1. Unity means to work together as if you were one person.
   2. During the game you held hands and worked as one team.
3. Why do we have Unity?
   
   1. When God created us, he wanted us to all live together and love each other
   2. God knew that we could not survive just by ourselves so he gave us a family, and friends to help us when we need it.
   3. Psalm 133:1
   4. We can do things better and faster if we work together
4. Where do we need to show unity?
   
   1. With our friends
   2. With our classmates
   3. With our families
5. How can we have unity in our families?
   
   1. We spend time with our parents and brothers and sisters
   2. We talk to them, ask them how their day was
   3. We help our family in doing the household chores

Discussion Questions

• Share a time when you were helpful to others
• How can you be helpful to your brothers and sisters at home?
• How can you be helpful with your parents and bring unity to your family?

Take it Home

Before the kids leave, have them trace their hand on a piece of construction paper. Have the kids write down (or help them write it) one thing that they will do to help bring their families together that week.           

13. Loving-AMAZING LOVE RACE

"A new commandment I give to you,

that you love one another, even as I have loved you”

–John 13:34

Objectives

• To teach the kids that it is important to love God, Friends and Family
• To give the kids practical ideas on how to love
• To give the kids an opportunity to show love by working in a team

Junior Kids

Materials

• 4 different stickers

Activity

      Set up 4 booths for the kids. At each station they will get a sticker.

Booth #1: Hugs- Hug 5 Friends

Booth #2: Nice Things- Say something nice to the person standing closest to you

Booth #3: Share- Give them the sticker and tell them that they have to give it to someone that does not have that sticker yet.

Booth #4: Memorize- Memorize a love bible verse. The one above can be used.

Story (John 13:5-35)

When Jesus knew that he was about to be arrested, He invited the disciples to have dinner. Before the dinner he washed their feet. At the dinner Jesus broke the bread and gave it to His friends (just like the priest does at communion) and Jesus also shared wine with them. When the meal was over, Jesus told the disciples that He was not going to be with them much longer. He was going to go to be with His father in heaven. But Jesus had one thing to tell them before he left. Jesus told them “Love one another as I have loved you”. He told them that if they loved each other, that all people will know that they were followers of Jesus.

Questions

• What did Jesus do for the disciples before the meal?
• What did Jesus tell the disciples to do?
• How did Jesus love the disciples?
• How does Jesus love us?
• How can we show love to others?

Senior Kids

Materials

• candy
• paper
• pens

           

Activity

Split the kids into groups of 4-5. Give each group a print out of all the love stations that they must go to. (You can put the stations in a different order for each group so that all the groups are not at the same station at the same time)

Examples of Love stations:

• God’s love station. Have the kids memorize an easy bible verse related to love
• Sharing station. Give the kids some candy and have them share it (either with other kids in the room or if you are outside they can give it to people there)
• Love note station. Have the kids write a ‘love note’ to their parents
• Proud to love station. Have the kids make a cheer about love
• Trust station. Have one kid stand with their back to the rest of the group. Have them fall backwards into the group. The group should catch them and bring them back up.
• Hug station. Give everyone in your group a hug.

Not all of these stations need to be used and you can think of others that show love. This does not need to be a timed race. It is more important that each group gets to all the stations.

Talk

1.     What does it mean to love?

a.     When we love someone we care for them

b.    When we love someone we share with them

c.     When we love someone we trust them

2.     Why do we love?

a.     Because Jesus loved us first

                                                  i.    John 13:5-15- Jesus washed the feet of the disciples

                                                 ii.    He gave us an example to follow.

b.    Jesus told us “you love one another, even as I have loved you” –John 13:34

3.     How can we love?

a.     We love by caring. We think about others before ourselves.

b.    We share with others. We want them to have what we have

c.     We trust others. If we love someone, we also want to trust them. We trust out parents that they know what is best for us.

d.    We show our love. We make sure we tell people that we love them. We can write them notes or give them a hug.

Discussion Questions

• When was a time that you felt very loved?
• When did you show love to someone else?

Take it Home

Tell your parents that you love them

14. Loving-BUILD THEM UP

“Therefore, encourage one another

and build one another up, as indeed you do.”

-1 Thessalonians 5:11

Objectives

• For kids to learn the importance of encouraging others
• For kids to practice encouraging their peers

Junior Kids

Materials

·         Big paper

·         Colorful markers

·         Tape

Activity

      Tape the paper to a wall. Then draw a big stick person in the center of the paper. Show the stick person to the children. Tell the kids, “This is my friend SAM NOBODY. He’s been feeling pretty bad lately – he’s been feeling as if he can’t do anything right. Let us see if we can encourage him. Think of encouraging things to say to him. You might think of encouraging words others have told you, or you might think of encouraging words you wish others would say to you.”

      Have children take turns saying encouraging words to SAM NOBODY. As they say their words, have them use a colored marker to draw a person-shaped outline around the stick person. Continue for several minutes until the children run out of encouraging words or until you run out of room on the manila paper. They can draw other things to add beauty to the picture, like a cap, bag and other things to make Sam look good.

      Ask the kids how you they think Sam Nobody feels now. When we encourage people, we are building them up. Look at how small Sam felt at the beginning. See how strong he looks now. That is what happens when we encourage others – we make them feel better and stronger.

Story

Jesus encourages Paul (Acts 23:3-11)

Paul was a follower of Jesus. God had Paul go to many places to tell people about Jesus. God gave Paul messages to tell the people. Sometimes the people did not like the messages that God gave. God was telling them to stop doing bad things, and since they did not want to stop doing bad things, they would get mad at Paul. Paul was starting to get discouraged about telling people about God. Many people did not like him. But Jesus came to him in a vision while he was sleeping. Jesus told him not to worry because he was doing a good job. Jesus told him that he was also going to go preach in another town. With Jesus’ encouraging words, Paul continued to tell people about Jesus.

Questions

• How are Paul and Sam Nobody the same?
• What does it mean to encourage?
• How were we able to cheer up Sam Nobody?
• How was Jesus able to encourage Paul?
• What can we do when our friends are sad?
• How can we encourage people who are not feeling well?

Senior Kids

Materials

• Colorful sheet of paper for each kid
• Markers or pens

Activity

Have the kids get into groups of 4-5 (preferably have each group be only girls or only boys). Have them write their name on the piece of paper (leaving space on the paper for others to write). Have each kid pass their paper to the right. Tell the kids to write encouraging words about the person whose paper they have. (ex. Nice, funny, Kind, Friendly…) Give them a minute or so to finish, and then pass each paper to the right again and have that child write encouraging words. Continue until each child has their own paper back.

Talk

1. What does it mean to be encouraging?
   
   1. When we encourage others we say nice things to help make them feel better
   2. When we encourage others we motivate them to do something (example if a friend is afraid to speak in front of the class, we tell them that they can do it, or we will pray for them)
2. Why is it important to encourage others?
   
   1. Because it makes the other person feel happy. God told us to love one another and encouraging is one way to love others

                                          i.    1 Thessalonians 5:11

2. because when we don’t feel good or we are nervous, it’s nice to hear encouraging words from our friends
2. When and how can we be encouraging?
   
   1. When a friend is nervous

                                          i.    We can tell them that it will be ok

                                         ii.    We can pray for them or with them

2. When a friend is sick

                                          i.    We can write them a get well card

                                         ii.    We pray for them

                                        iii.    We can visit them and make them laugh

3. When a friend is having a bad day

                                          i.    We can do something special for them

                                         ii.    Share something with them

                                        iii.    Pray for them

                                        iv.    Make them laugh

Discussion questions

·         How did it feel when you got your paper back and all the encouraging words were on it?

·         When was the last time you were encouraging to a friend?

·         How can you be encouraging to your friends in the future?

Take it Home

Make something special for a friend of yours and give it to them for no reason. Not because it was their birthday, but just because you were thinking of them. 

15. Loving-LOVE IN ACTION

“Children, let us love not in word of speech,

but in deed and truth.”

-1 John 3:18

Objectives

• To teach the kids that is it not enough to know what love is, but they must act on their love
• To allow the kids to use their creativity to create pictures and collages.

Song

“Sing to the Lord I love you”

Junior Kids

Materials

• Paper
• Glue sticks
• Scissors
• Old Magazines

Activity

Have kids form groups of 3 and give each 3 a piece of construction paper or poster board, some old magazines, scissors, and glue sticks. Tell the kids to create “Love in action” collages in their trios. Tell them to look through your magazines and find pictures of people showing love to others. They might find a picture of a mother and child together of a picture of someone showing kindness to another person. Have them cut the pictures out, and glue them to the paper. When they are done have them share their collages with the group.

Story

Story told by mother Theresa of her work in Australia

On a reservation there was an elderly man. He was completely ignored by everyone.  His home was disordered and dirty. I told him, "Please, let me clean your house, wash your clothes, and make your bed." He answered, "I'm okay like this. Let it be." I said again, "You will be still better if you allow me to do it." He finally agreed. So I was able to clean his house and wash his clothes.

I discovered a beautiful lamp, covered with dust.  Only God knows how many years had passed since he last lit it. I said to him, "Don't you light your lamp? Don't you ever use it?" He answered, "No. No one comes to see me.  I have no need to light it.  Who would I light it for?" I asked, "Would you light it every night if the sisters came?" He replied, "Of course."

From that day on the sisters committed themselves to visiting him every evening.  We cleaned the lamp, and the sisters would light it every evening. Two years passed. I had completely forgotten that man.  He sent this message: "Tell my friend that the light she lit in my life continues to shine still."

I thought it was a very small thing. We often neglect small things.

Questions

• How did the people in our collages show love?
• How did mother Theresa show her love to the old man?
• How do you think the man felt after mother Theresa helped him?
• Who can we be loving to?
• What can we do to show our love to others?

Senior Kids

Materials

·         Paper

·         Markers

·         Pencils

Activity

Split the kids into groups of 6-8. Have the kids talk about a way that they can show love. What is a way that they can express their love to friends, family, classmates, teacher, etc. Ask them to make a comic strip about that action. Have each kid in the group draw one frame of the comic strip. When the group is finished have them present it.

Talk

1.     What does it mean to love?

a.     When we love others we care for them.

i.    We are concerned for them if are hurt

ii.    We want them to be happy

iii.    We pray for them

b.    When we love others we do nice things for them to show them that we love them

2.     Why do we love each other?

a.     Because Jesus loved us first

b.    Because Jesus asked us to

i.    1 John 3:18

c.     Because we like it when others love us

3.     How can we show people that we love them

a.     (Refer to the comic strips that they made)

b.    Share with them the story of mother Theresa from above

i.    We love each other through simple things

c.     We can tell each other that we love them

d.    We can do nice things for one another

e.     We can love our parents by listening to them

f.     We can love our teacher by doing our best in school

Discussion Questions

• When is a time that we showed love to someone else? Share about it.
• How can we continue to show love to others?

Take it home

Before the kids leave, have them make a list of 5 people that they can show love to. Have them write one thing that they can do for each of those people, and tell them to do it.

16. Loving-THANKS, MOM

“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and reject not your mother’s teaching”

-Proverbs 1: 8

Objectives

• To help the kids appreciate mom
• To have the kids thank their mom for all that she has done.

Junior Kids

Activity

Teach the children the chorus to the song “because of you”. Make actions to the song for the kids or have them make up their own actions. At the end of the meeting have the kids perform the song for their moms.

“BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME”

You are my strength when I was weak

You are my voice when I couldn’t speak

You are my eyes when I couldn’t see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach

You gave me faith ‘cause you believe

I’m everything I am

Because you love me

Story

The Little Traveler

Once upon a time there was a little boy who had a long journey to go. He had a very dear mother, and she did not want her little son to leave her; but she knew he must go, so she put her arms around him and said: "Now, don't be afraid, for I shall be thinking of you, and God will take care of you."

Then the little boy kissed her goodbye and ran away. Oh! there were so many beautiful things to hear - the birds singing and the bees humming; and so many beautiful things to see - the flowers and butterflies and green grass! And after a while he came to a forest; and through the forest, under the shade of the trees, flowed a babbling creek.

"I wonder how I can get over?" said the little boy; and the wise wind whispered:

"There is always a way to get over the stream. Follow me! follow me!"
Then he followed the sound of the wise wind's voice, and the wind blew against a tall pine tree, and the pine tree fell across the creek, and lay there, where the little boy might step. He made his way over, and thanked the wise wind; and he asked:

"Wise wind, wise wind, blowing your way!
Carry a message for me today:
My love to my mother, wherever she be;
I know she is always thinking of me."

The wind blew back to carry the message, and the little boy quickly went on his journey. At night the stars would look down, twinkling and blinking; and as the little boy watched them, he would say:

"Little stars, little stars, shining so bright!
Carry a message for me tonight:
My love to my mother, wherever she be;
I know she is always thinking of me."

The little boy went on, day and night, until he came to a land - a land so full of delight that the little boy felt that his journey was ended, until one day when a great storm came. The wind blew, the thunder crashed, the lightning flashed, the rain came pouring down, and the little boy wanted to go home.

"I will find a way!" he cried at last; and, just as he spoke, the sun came bursting out, the storm clouds rolled away, and there in the sky was a rainbow bridge that seemed to touch both sky and earth.Then the little boy's heart leaped for joy, and he ran; and when he reached the highest arch, he looked down on the other side and saw home and his mother at the rainbow's end. "Mother! Mother!" he called, as he ran down into her arms. "Mother, I've always been thinking of you, and God has taken care of me."

Questions

• How does your mother take care of you?
• Even if we are far from our mothers we know she is thinking of us, how do we do the same for our mothers?
• Do we pray for our mothers?
• How can we show our mothers that we love them?

Senior Kids

Materials

• 20 1x4 inch strips of colored paper
• Markers
• Transparent tape

Activity

Give each kid at least twenty paper strips. Tell the kids to write one thing your mother has taught you on each slip of paper. If kids have trouble, spark their thinking with ideas such as how to eat, how to dress, how to turn on the faucet, how to read and so on. After the kids have completed their strips, have them make paper chains by looping each strip with another strip then taping it to create a “link”. Then demonstrate how to make a chain into a necklace by looping the ends together.

Talk

1. Why do we have a day devoted to our mothers?
   
   1. Our mothers are a blessing to us

                                          i.    Proverbs 1:8-9

2. Our mothers give up so much for us.

                                          i.    They give up their time to be with us

                                         ii.    They give their money to give us things we need

                                        iii.    They share their talents with us to teach us new things

3. Our mothers do so much for us every day and they don’t get a thank you for it

                                          i.    They keep us safe

                                         ii.    They help us wash our clothes, clean our rooms

                                        iii.    They take us to school

4. Our mothers love us
1. What can we do to show our mothers that we love them?
   
   1. We can tell them we love them
   2. Tell them about all the things we are thankful for
   3. We can do something special for them
   4. We can help them

                                          i.    Clean the house

                                         ii.    Cook Dinner

                                        iii.    Watch over our younger brothers and sisters

Discussion Questions

• When was the last time you told your mom “Thank You”? “I love You?
• How can you show your mom that you love her?

Facilitators Tip

·         Be sensitive to some children in your group that don’t live with their mothers, allow them to write things their primary caregivers (grandmother, foster mother, aunt, god mother) have helped them learn.

Take it Home

This week, tell your mom that you love her every day. Also thank her for the everyday things she does for you.

17. Loving-WORLDS MOST HONORED DADS

“Honor your father and your mother as the Lord,

your God, has commanded you”

- Dueteronomy 5:16

Objectives

• To teach kids the importance of honoring their fathers
• To give the kids an opportunity to tell their fathers how much they honor them

Junior Kids

Materials

• Paper
• Crayons or markers

Activity

Give each kid a piece of paper. Instruct them to draw a picture of their dad that shows all of his good qualities. If they are old enough to write words, they can also write words on the page that describe their dad.

Story

Pinocchio (If possible try to find a story book of Pinocchio with pictures)

A long time ago in a small Italian village, there was a man named Geppetto. Geppetto made puppet, but there was one that he especially liked. He called this one Pinocchio. He wished that Pinocchio would become a real boy. The next morning when Geppetto woke up, Pinocchio had turned into a real boy! Geppetto was so excited. He tried to teach Pinocchio all the right things to do. But Pinocchio was not always a good boy, and got himself into trouble. Pinocchio had gotten lost with some bad people. Geppetto looked all over for Pinocchio. When Geppetto finally found Pinocchio, he was so relieved that Pinocchio was ok. Geppetto loved Pinocchio very much.

Questions

• What did Geppetto do to show that he loved Pinocchio?
• Did Geppetto go out of his way to show that he loved Pinocchio?
• How do our dad’s go out of their way to show that they love us?
• How can we show our Dad’s that we love them?
• How can we honor our dad? How can we tell him thank you for all the things he does for us?

Senior Kids

Talk

1.     God has given us a wonderful Gift. Dads!

a.     What are the kinds of things that Dads do for us?

b.    How do our dads show us that they love us?

(You can have the kids write the answers to the last two questions)

2.     God gave us dads for a reason

a.     To protect us

                                                  i.    Our dad’s protect us from harm

                                                 ii.    They make sure that we are safe

                                                iii.    They carry us when we are hurt

                                                iv.    They take care of us

b.    To provide for us

                                                  i.    They give us all the things we need

                                                 ii.    They give us food

                                                iii.    They give us a house to love in

                                                iv.    They give us love

c.     They pastor us

                                                  i.    Our dads tell us about God

                                                 ii.    They give us good examples of how to be like Jesus

3.     Why should we honor or dads?

a.     Because our dad’s do many things for us (refer to the things they wrote down)

b.    Because God told us to

                                                  i.    “Honor your father and your mother as the Lord, your God, has commanded you”- Deuteronomy 5:16

c.     Jesus also honored his father. He prayed to his father in heaven (God)

4.     How can we honor or dads?

a.     We can tell them we love them

b.    Tell them thank you for all the things they do for us

c.     Pray for them

Discussion Questions

• What is something our dad has done for you? Share about a time your dad did something special for you.

Materials

• Paper
• Markers
• Colorful stickers

Activity

Ask the kids to make a Certificate of Honor for their fathers. Let them personalize their certificates, mentioning things their fathers do for them to honor their fathers in specific ways.

Facilitator Tips

Be sensitive to kids who may not have fathers at home. Suggest that they could give the certificates to another male role model (Grandfather, God father, Uncle, Older Brother) or send them to their fathers.

Take it Home

Have the kids give their drawings/certificates to their fathers, and tell them to thank their fathers for all that they do.

18. Obedient-Be Like Abraham

"I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this

and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you…”

–Genesis 22:16-17

Objectives

• To know what is obedience
• To know why we have rules
• To show the importance of obeying rules

Junior Kids

Activity

Simon Says

Have the leader give out random instructions. They will do what the leader would tell them to do only if the instructions will start with the phrase “Simon says”. You can also change the name of the game to include the leader’s name, such as “John says”

Story

Abraham's Sacrifice (Genesis 22:1-18)

A long time ago, there was a man named Abraham. Abraham was very faithful to God. Abraham had no sons, but really longed for one. After many years of praying, God blessed him with a son, and he named him Isaac. Abraham loved Isaac very much. One day when Isaac was a child, God told Abraham to take Isaac up to the hill. God told Abraham that if you love me, you will give your child to me as a sacrifice. Abraham loved his son, very much and did not want to sacrifice him. He was still Abraham’s only son, but Abraham was faithful to God. So he took Isaac up the hill. Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac an angel came and said, "Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Now I know that you love God, because you would have given up you son, your only son." God then promised to give Abraham many sons, so that he would have many descendants.

Questions

• Who are the characters of the story?
• Describe Abraham?
• What did God tell Abraham to do?
• What happen in the end of the story?
• We have been given rules and people to watch over us by God. We should listen to them just as Abraham listened to God. How can we better follow and listen?

Senior Kids

Activity

Have the kids get in groups of 10. Have each group stand in a circle. There should be one YFC in each group. Have the kids start chanting boom chica boom boom    boom boom (or another rhythmic short chant, 4 counts). The leader will start with an action and then the kid to the right will do that action on the next boom chica. And the action will move down the line.

Example:

First boom chica…

Leader- raise his right arm

Second boom chica…

Leader- stomp his left foot

Kid 1- raise his right arm

Third boom chica…

Leader- left arm to the side

Kid 1- stomp his left foot

Kid 2- raise his right arm

            Fourth boom chica…

Leader- shake right leg

Kid 1- left arm to the side

Kid 2- stomp his left foot

Kid 3- raise his right arm

And so on. The object of the game is to have each kid doing it without messing up. If someone messed up. Start over.

           

Talk

1. Why is it important to have rules to follow?
   
   1. God gives us rules to help keep us safe and to help us love one another
   2. The 10 commandments help us love God and others
   3. Our rules at school help us stay safe and love our classmates
2. What are some rules that you follow?
   
   1. Have the kids give examples and ask them why they have that rule.

Discussion Questions

·         Share one rule that you don’t like following

·         Why is that rule in place?

·         How can you better follow that rule?  

Take it Home

Make check list a checklist of the different simple rules that we should follow everyday (e.g. I obey what my parents, grandparents, older relatives tell me)

19. Obedient-DON’T BE EATEN BY A WHALE

“Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.”

–Psalm 119:33

Objectives

• To understand what obedience is
• To appreciate the importance of obedience
• Be creative by coloring pictures

Song

Every Move I make

Junior Kids

Materials

• Crayons or markers
• Poster or large papers

Activity

Group the kids into 5 groups. Have each group draw a picture that describes each line of the story of Jonah (If there are too many kids more than one group can draw the same line of the story)

1.     Once there was a prophet named Jonah. He went to many different towns and cities telling people what God wanted him to say. 

2.     One night while Jonah was praying, God told Jonah that he should go to Nineveh. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he knew that lots of bad people lived there. So Jonah decided to take a boat somewhere that was far away from Nineveh, so that God couldn’t find Him.

3.     While Jonah was on the Boat, a big storm came. The people on the boat thought that maybe someone on the boat had made God angry and that is why there was a storm.

4.     When they found out that Jonah was running away from God, they threw Jonah into the sea. Then a giant whale came and swallowed Jonah

5.     After 3 days of being in the stomach of a whale. Jonah told God that he was sorry, and that he would go to Nineveh if He got out of the whale. The whale spit Jonah out, and Jonah went to Nineveh.

Story

Read the lines from above, showing the pictures that the kids drew. (Jonah 1:1- 3:3)

Questions

• How long was Jonah in the belly of a whale?
• What did God tell Jonah to do?
• Did Jonah listen to God?
• When Jonah didn’t listen to God, what did God do?
• How can we listen to what God tells us to do?

Senior Kids

Materials

• Random props (hats, funny shirts, household items)
• Quotes from movies

Activity

Tell the kids the story of Jonah (you can use the story from the junior kid’s activity above). Split them into teams of 4-6 kids. Give each team 3 props and have them randomly pick a movie quote. Tell the kids to act out the story of Jonah using those 3 props and the movie quote. They can either make the story into a modern day story of Jonah or act out the one from the bible. Have them present in front of the group. Each member of the group must have a part.

Talk

1.     What lesson did Jonah learn in the story?

a.     Jonah learned to listen to God

b.    Sometimes we forget to listen to God

2.     Why do we listen to God?

a.     Because God loves us and he knows what is best for us

b.    Because God is always speaking to us

3.     How can we listen to God if we can not hear Him?

a.     We pray. In our prayer time God has messages for us, but we must give silent time for God to speak to us. If we do all the talking, God might not have his turn to speak.

b.    We read the bible. The bible is God’s word. He is trying to tell us things through the messages that he gives us in the bible.

c.     Obey the 10 commandments.

d.    Listen to our parents, teachers, and other authorities. God gave them to watch over us.

Discussion Group Questions

·         When do you take time to listen to God?

·         How can we better listen to what God is telling us to do?

Take it Home

Read the bible with your parents. Then say a prayer and ask God what He is trying to tell you. Have your parents help.

20. Obedient-OBEYING PARENTS, OBEYING GOD

“For the love of God is this,

that we keep his commands.”

-1 John 5:3

Objectives

• For the kids to experience obedience
• To Teach the kids that loving God means obeying him as well as obeying parents

Junior Kids

Materials

• Small object for each kid

Activity

      Give each kid a lightweight object, and tell them to stand up, place their object on their head and walk like a duck. They are not allowed to hold the object. After that, do the same things but this time stick their right elbow out to their side with their hand on their chest. You can continue to ask them to do other silly things with the object.

Questions

·         Did any of you feel a little silly doing these things?

·         Why did you do what I told you to do?

·         We usually do what people tell us to do if we love and respect those people. Who should we love and respect most of all?

·         How can we show God how much we love him?

·         What kinds of things does God ask us to do?

Story

Joshua and the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6)

A long time ago there was a man named Joshua. Joshua was the leader of the Israelites, who were God’s people. Joshua and the Israelites were on their way to the land that God had promised them, but there was a huge wall around a city called Jericho. The Israelites thought “How are we going to defeat Jericho and this wall? It is too big!” But Joshua told them that God would help. God told Joshua what to do. Joshua knew that God’s plan sounded crazy, but he told the people anyways. God had told Joshua and the Israelites to walk around the walls of the Jericho completely silent and then go home. They did this 6 days in a row. But on the 7^th day, Joshua instructed them to walk around the walls 7 times. After the 7^th time, God told Joshua and the Israelites to yell as loud as they could. When they started yelling, the walls of Jericho fell to the ground! God had helped them, just as he has promised.

Senior Kids

Materials

• Slips of paper
• Pen
• Basket of Hat to draw out of

Activity

Just Do It

Write "dare" challenges on little pieces of paper. Have the kids get into 4-5 groups. Have each group pull a challenge out of the basket/hat. The team reads the challenge out loud and then they have to do it. You may have all the teams pick a challenge and then give them a few minutes to work together.

Examples of Challenges:

Serenade one of the YFC in the room using a song from high school musical

Act out a commercial selling your dirty sock

Sing a song about KFC to the tune of Happy Birthday

Name every person in the room (first and last name)

Pat your head while rubbing your belly

Try to reach your tongue to your elbow (it’s humanly impossible, but funny to watch)

Talk

1. How many of you felt silly doing those activities?
2. Why did you do them?
   Sometimes we are asked to do things that we might not want to do.

1. You probably did them because you respected the person who told you to do it.
2. You trusted that whatever they were making you do would have a bigger meaning and purpose. (and it does)

• Sometimes our parents, teachers, or God, asks us to do things that we may think are silly, but because we love and respect them we do it, and we do it well.
• How can we obey what God tells us to do?
  
  1. Even though we can not hear God tell us things, there are many things that God asks us to do.
  2. How does he tell us these things? Through the bible. Jesus was God on earth, and while Jesus was here he told us many things that God wanted us to do

                                          i.    Love one another

                                         ii.    Love God with all your heart soul and mind

3. We can also obey God by listening to our Parents, Priests and Teachers. God put them there to help us follow God.

Discussion Questions

• What is God telling you to do or not do?
• How can you be better at doing those things?

Take it Home

Write down one thing that you feel like God is telling you to do (make sure there is guidance from the YFC and parent coordinators about these things). Do it this week.

21. Obedient-THE FLOOD

“Children, be obedient to your parents in all things,

for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.”

–Colossians 3:20

Objectives

• To let the kids see how God blesses those who are obedient
• To let them know that their parents are given by God and that they should follow them

Song

Making Melodies

Junior Kids

Materials

• Paper
• sets of crayons
• pencil

Activity

They will be given a paper, a pencil and a set of crayons. The instructor then tells them how to draw an ark, just like Noah’s. And after drawing it, they will color it with the color the instructor tells them to use. After everything, the kids would compare their pictures to see who’s looked the closest to the instructors.

Story

Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6-7)

God told Noah to build a big boat. God told Noah that a big flood was about to come, so he needed to make it big enough so that two of each animal could fit on the boat. Noah loved God very much so he built the boat just like God had told him. Many people made fun of Noah for building such a large boat. There was no ocean close to where he was building it. When Noah told them that God told him there would be a flood; they laughed at him even more. But Noah believed that God would do what He said, so Noah kept building the boat. Noah got two of each animal on the boat and also took his family with him. It started to rain and rain and rain. It rained for 40 days. The water covered all the trees and mountains. Noah thanked God for keeping his family safe. God was pleased with Noah because he did what God had told him to do.

Questions

• Why did Noah build the boat?
• Who did Noah take on the boat with Him?
• Did Noah listen to God?
• How can we listen to God?
• Who else do we need to listen to?
• How can we listen to our parents and teachers?

Senior Kids

Materials

• Blindfolds
• Chairs

Activity

The kids will be grouped into teams and must form a line. After forming a line, the first person in the line will be blindfolded. The second person in line will lead them to the chair by telling them directions. They can not actually touch the blindfolded person. After they touch the chair the second person must also instruct them on how to get back to the group. When that person gets back they go to the end of the line, and the next person goes. The game will be finished after each member of the group has had a turn. (Hint: the chair must be moved to different places for each person.)

Talk

1.    What does it mean to be obedient?

a.    Doing what you are told to do

b.    It means we do what our parents, teachers, or God asks us to do even when we sometimes don’t want to

c.    It means also not to complain when they ask us to do things

2.    Why are we obedient?

a.    We are obedient because God gave us these people to watch over us and take care of us.

b.    God knows what is best for us, even if sometimes it seems like he is asking us to do something crazy.

c.    Read the story of Noah (Genesis 6-7)

                                                  i.    Noah was obedient even when people made fun of him

                                                 ii.    He knew that God was going to bless him for staying faithful to him.

                                                iii.    Noah made sure that he listened to God

3.    How can we be obedient?

a.    Listen to what our parents and teachers tell us to do

b.    Listen during mass, Sunday school and KFC meetings for what God is telling us to do.

Discussion Group Questions

• How can we listen to what God is telling us?
• What do you feel like God is telling you to do through this meeting?

Take it Home

Do something for your parents without being asked to do it, something that they usually have to remind you to do.

22. Prayerful-MORE THAN MUSIC

“Come let us sing to the Lord,

let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him giving thanks

with music and songs of praise.”

-Psalm 95:1-3

Objectives

• For kids to learn the importance of worship and kids praise
• For kids to learn new kids praise songs

Junior Kids

Activity

      Teach the kids a kid’s praise song. Then instruct them to sing it in a variety of different ways.

·         Sad

·         Happy

·         Excited

·         Tired

·         Laughing

·         Underwater

·         On a tightrope

·         In outer space

·         Thirsty in a dessert

·         As loud as they can

·         As soft as they can

Story

Paul singing in Jail (Acts 16)

Paul was a follower of Jesus. But at his time some people didn’t like the people that followed Jesus. Some of the leaders of the town saw that Paul was a follower of Jesus so they arrested him and threw him into Jail. This did not make Paul want to follow Jesus any less, in fact Paul prayed while in Jail. Paul sang songs of praise to God while in jail. He and a friend of his sang their praise songs as loud as they could and the other prisoners listened. All of a sudden there was an earthquake, and all the doors of the jail were opened.

When the guard woke up he saw that all the doors were opened and he was worried that he was going to be killed by the king for not doing his job, because he thought all the prisoners had escaped. But to his surprise all of the prisoners were still there praying. The guard then also became a follower of Jesus and convinced the leaders of the town to let Paul go free.

Questions

• Why was Paul singing in the jail?
• How did the Guard become a follower of Jesus?
• When we are sad, should we still sing praise to God?
• When we sing songs to God, St. Augustine said it is like praying twice. When can we sing songs to God?  

Senior Kids

Materials

• Full music ministry set up if possible

Activity and Talk

Teach the kids a slow praise and worship song. Sing through it once and let them hear the melody.

1.     Why do we sing praise to God?

1. We sing praise to God because he is a great God
2. Because he loves us and we want to show him how much we love him.
3. Because singing praise is the same as praying to God

Then the second time you go through the song. Don’t sing it just say the words as a prayer. Have them read through it a second time and put expression in the words.

2.     The most important part of any praise song is the words. We are not just singing a song for fun, but we are really singing a prayer.

1. The words to the song can show that we are happy to be a follower of God
2. The words can tell God that we love him
3. The words can tell God that we will follow him anywhere
4. When we sing the words we need to mean what we are singing

The third time you go through the song, play the song, but don’t have the kids sing it. Tell them to praise God through their actions. Tell God that they love him through raising their hands or dancing or staying still. Tell them to pray while you are singing the song.

3.     The actions that we have during worship are also important.

1. When we raise our hands we are reaching out for God.
2. When we put our hands out to the side, we may be telling God that we want to give our all to Him
3. When we dance, we are showing God how happy we are to be praising him (like when we sing kids praise)

The last time you go through the song, instruct the kids to sing the song, pray the words and show actions to God all at the same time.

4.     When we sing, St. Augustine said that we pray twice.

1. We pray with our words and with our actions
2. There are many ways to pray and singing is just one of them
3. Psalm 95:1-3

Discussion Group Questions

• How did it feel when you just said the words to the song? How did it feel when you just did the actions?
• How did it feel when you put them all together?  

Take it Home

Teach a friend a praise song

23. Prayerful-PRAYER POWER

“…your words were heard,

and I have come in response to your words.”

–Daniel 12:10

Objectives

·         To teach the kids basic prayers

·         To teach the kids the importance of praying everyday

Junior Kids

Materials

·         Paper

·         Markers to write prayers and decorate

Activity

Write a full prayer on a piece of paper and decorate the paper. Cut the piece of paper into 8 puzzle pieces. Have the kids work in groups of 4-5 to put the puzzle together. Prayers that can be included are Hail Mary, Our Father, Glory Be, prayer over meals, and As I lay me down to sleep.

After each puzzle is put together, the leader should go over the prayer with the kids. Recite each line of the prayer and have the kids repeat it.

Story

Daniel and the Lions Den (Daniel 6)

      King Darius had assigned 3 new leaders in his kingdom. One of these leaders was Daniel. Daniel was a very good leader and always did his best to serve the King. Daniel was also very faithful and prayed to God everyday. King Darius liked Daniel very much. The other leaders were jealous of Daniel. So the other leaders made a plan to get rid of Daniel. The leaders tricked the King into signing a law. The law said “No one is allowed to pray to God. The people in the kingdom are only allowed to worship King Darius. If they worship God, they will be thrown into a den of hungry lions.” Even though Daniel knew about this, he still prayed to God every day. The other leaders caught him praying to God, arrested him and took him to the King. King Darius was upset that they were going to throw Daniel in the Lion’s den, but he had signed the law, so he had to let them. King Darius told Daniel, “Your God will help you.” So Daniel stayed in the Lion’s den all night praying to God. When the King came to the Lion’s den in the morning, Daniel had not been hurt at all by the Lions, because he had prayed to God.

Questions

• Why did Daniel get thrown in the Lion’s den?
• What did Daniel do in the Lion’s den?
• Why did Daniel pray?
• If we pray will God help us too?
• How often should we pray?
• When do you pray?

Senior Kids

Materials

·         Paper

·         Pen

·         Scissors

Activity

The group is split into teams. Each team should have between 5-8 kids. The team will be given slips of paper with different lines from a prayer written on it.

Example: The group will be given the following

1.     World without end amen

2.     Glory be to the Father to the Son and to the Holy Spirit

3.     Now and ever shall be

4.     As it was in the Beginning

Each group has to work together to put the slips of paper in order. Examples of prayers to be used: Hail Mary, Our Father, Glory Be, Angel of God, Hail Holy Queen, Apostles Creed, Act of Contrition, As I lay me down to sleep and Blessing over food.

Talk

1.     Why do we pray?

a.     Because God asked us to.

b.    God wants us to be closer to Him, and praying is our way of talking to God.

c.     Just like we talk to our friends, we should also talk to God.

d.    God wants to help us. (Story of Daniel and the Lions Den- Daniel 6)

2.     How do we pray?

a.     We can say prayers (like the prayers we learned)

b.    We can just talk to God

                                                  i.    We can tell God what we are thankful for

                                                 ii.    We can tell God what we are sorry for

                                                iii.    We can tell God what we are worried about it

c.     We can sing Worship songs

d.    We can pray with our family

3.     When do we pray

a.     In the morning

b.    Before we go to bed

c.     Before we eat

d.    At Mass

Discussion Group Questions

• When was a time that you prayed for God to help you?
• When was a time you prayed to God and he answered your prayer?

Take it Home

Pray with your whole family.

24. Prayerful-SAINTS

“Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation,

devoted to prayer”

–Romans 12:12

Objectives

·         To teach the kids about saints

·         To teach the kids to pray to saints when they need help

Junior Kids

Materials

·         Printed coloring sheets from below (you don’t need to use all of them, but they are there to choose from)

·         Crayons or Markers

Activity

      Have each kid take a coloring page of a saint and color it. At the end ask the kids what they learned from that coloring page.

Story

St. Clare
Clare was a beautiful Italian woman. When she heard St. Francis of Assisi preach, she wanted to be just like him and live with no money like him. So one evening, she ran away from home, and in a little chapel outside Assisi, gave herself to God. St. Francis cut off her hair and gave her a rough brown habit to wear, tied with a plain cord around her waist. Her parents tried in every way to make her return home, but Clare would not. Soon her sister, St. Agnes joined her, as well as other young women who wanted to be brides of Jesus, and live without any money. St. Clare and her sisters wore no shoes, ate no meat, lived in a poor house, and kept silent most of the time. Yet they were very happy, because Our Lord was close to them all the time. Once, He saved them from a great danger in answer to St. Clare's prayer. An army of rough soldiers came to attack Assisi and they planned to raid the convent first. Although very sick, St. Clare had herself carried to the wall and right there, where the enemies could see it, she had the Blessed Sacrament placed. Then on her knees, she prayed to God to save the Sisters. "O Lord, protect these Sisters whom I cannot protect now," she prayed. A voice seemed to answer: "I will keep them always in My care." At the same time a sudden fright struck the attackers and they fled as fast as they could.

Questions

·         What did you learn about St. Clare in the story?

·         What is a saint?

·         A saint is a special person that loved God very much, and was very close to God. Can we be saints?

·         What can we do to be more like a saint?

Senior Kids

Materials

·         Printed Saint Fun Facts sheets from below

·         Paper

·         Pens

Activity

Let each kid pick a saint. Have them read about the saint on the card. Have each kid pair up with another kid. Have them introduce themselves to the other kid as if they were the saint on their card. After each kid introduces themselves, have the kids switch cards. Have the kids pair up again and introduce themselves as the person on the new card they have. Go for a few rounds until the kids start getting the same saint back again.

Talk

Saints were just ordinary people who were able to do extraordinary things because of Jesus

Saint Francis

St. Francis’s father did not know he had been born until he came home from a business trip. Francis’s mother had named him Giovanni after John the Baptist, but Francis’s father did not want him to be a man of God, so he renamed him Francis. He had many brothers and sisters. When Francis was young he liked to spend lots of money on things he didn’t need. He hated anything that was not beautiful. Slowly Francis started to pray more, and one day while riding his horse, he saw a leper (someone with sores all over their body) and he got down off his horse and kissed the lepers hand. He was so filled with Joy that he then gave up all his money and devoted himself to serving the poor.

Saint Clare

She was the oldest daughter of a very rich man. When she was 18, she heard St. Francis speak and was so inspired that she left all her riches to live among the poor. Her father was so angry he tried to drag her home. 16 days after Saint Clare left her family, her younger sister Agnes joined her

Saint Agnes

Agnes, the younger sister of St. Clare, left her family to follow Jesus and be with her sister. Their father was so mad, that their brother Monaldo to get them. Relatives and even armed military went with to make them come back home. Monaldo was so mad that he couldn’t talk her into coming home that he tried to force her. They tried dragging her out, but by God’s grace he body became so heavy that they couldn’t carry her. After trying and trying her family let her stay. She was very Joyful serving God.

Saints are just ordinary people. They affected the lives of others and followed God. They were not perfect. Many of them were terrible sinners early in their life, but God called them to do greater things. Now that these saints are in heaven, we can ask them to pray for us, just like we would ask a friend to pray for us.

Discussion Questions

·         What did you learn about Saints?

·         How can you become more like a saint?

Take it Home

Take home the saint card or coloring sheet of the saint. Find out more about that Saint if you can. Pray to that saint to watch over you, and to pray for you.

***www.newadvent.org

www.catholic.org

25. Respectful-AUTHORITY

“Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities,

for there is no authority except from God,

that exist have been established by God.”

-Romans 13:1

Objectives

• For the kids to experience being under authority
• For the kids to understand that God puts authority over us

Song

“Jesus is the Rock”

Junior Kids

Activity

Split the kids into groups of 4-5. Have the oldest child in each group be the leader of the group. Set up an obstacle course. Gather the leaders and tell them how to get through the obstacle course correctly, but each person will do it a little differently. The first person to go will do it normally, the second person will do it skipping, the third will do it jumping, and the fourth will do it facing backwards. The leader must instruct his team how to get through the course, but he can not start giving directions until the race has begun. If a kid goes through the course wrong, they must start again. The first team to finish correctly wins. 

Story

ANNABELLA DAY 
How slow is Annabella Day!
She's so reluctant to obey!
She acts so sluggish and so sickly!
Oh, Anna, why not do it quickly?
Oh, Anna, do be prompt, and then,
No one will call you "Goop" again!

Questions

• How was Annabella not being obedient?
• Do we sometimes act slowly when authorities tell us to do something?
• Do we sometimes pretend we didn’t hear them?
• What should we do when an authority asks us to do something?
• How can we better listen to authorities?

Senior Kids

Materials

• Rope
• Standing poles or something to tie the rope to make a web

Activity

Divide the kids into 4 groups. Ask each team to pick a leader. Only the team leader is allowed to talk during the game. Give each team 2 minutes to plan on how to pass through the spider web without touching the strings of the web. Each team is allowed to touch the web 3 times only, if they will touch the web 3x then they will be ask to repeat the whole process again. Encourage the team to listen and follow the instruction of the leader.

Talk

1. What is an authority?
   
   1. An authority is someone who is put in charge of someone else
   2. Basically that person can tell the other what to do, but is also responsible for keeping the people they are in charge of safe
   3. God puts people in authority over us to keep us safe and doing what we are supposed to be doing.
2. What are some examples of authority?
   
   1. For your city? Police Officers, Fireman

                                          i.    They are responsible for keeping you safe and making sure you obey the law.

2. For your home? Mom and dad, older brothers and sisters

                                          i.    Your mom and dad are responsible for keeping you safe and healthy.

                                         ii.    When your parents are away, they might put your older brother or sister in charge.

3. For your school? Teachers, principals

                                          i.    Our teachers and principals are at our schools to keep us safe and help us to learn.

3. How can we obey our authorities?
   
   1. Listen to them
   2. Do what they tell me to do

                                          i.    When an authority tells me to do something we should do it right away

                                         ii.    We should also not complain or groan

3. Pray for them

                                          i.    Pray that God guides their decisions.

Discussion Questions

·         Who is an authority that you really look up to?

·         Why do you listen to them?

·         How do you show them you appreciate them?

Take it Home

Do something nice for your teacher this week. Make her a card and a gift to say thank you for being your teacher. 

26. Respectful-More the Same than Different

“…but with humility of mind regard one another

as more important than yourselves”

–Philippians 2:3

Objectives

• to teach the kids the value of being respectful
• to make the kids realize how blessed they are as children of God and how to share it to those less fortunate
• To have the kids see Christ in other children through immersion, story telling and art

Junior Kids

Activity

Have a guest come in and teach the kids some basic sign language. (You can also have a coordinator learn some basic sign language online to teach the kids). If possible teach a song in sign language.

Story

Anna was bored at home one day, so she decided to ask her mom if she could go out and play. Her mom said it was ok as long as she was home by dinner.

While Anna was walking around her neighborhood, she saw another little girl about her age, sitting outside her house reading a book. Anna decided to go over and ask what book she was reading. Anna said “Hi my name is Anna, what book are you reading?” the little girl said “Hi my name is Crissy. I’m reading my favorite book, Harry Potter.” Anna told her that that was her favorite book too! As Anna looked at the book she saw that there were no pictures or words, there were just little bumps. Anna asked Crissy about the book. Crissy told Anna that she can not see, so she reads by running her finger along the bumps. Crissy read a little of the book to her, but then Crissy had to go in, so Anna went on her way.

Anna continued to walk down her street, and saw a boy who was playing with a basketball. Anna loved playing basketball. So Anna ran over to ask if she could play with him. The boy that Anna saw was in a wheelchair, but he was really good at shooting the ball. Anna said “Hi my name is Anna, can I play basketball with you?” The boy said “Hi my name is John. I’ve been waiting for someone to play with!” John told her that he plays wheelchair basketball. Anna was excited to learn. Some of the rules were a little different, but it was pretty much the same.

Anna wanted to stay and play with him longer, but she realized that it was getting dark. So she said goodbye to John and ran home. When Anna got home, her mom asked if she had made any new friends. Anna said “Yes! One who loves to read Harry Potter and one who loves to play basketball!”  Anna was so excited about her new friends, and decided that she would go play with them again tomorrow!

Discussion Questions:

• What did Anna find out that both her and Crissy love to do?
• What did Anna and John both love to do?
• When we meet a new friend who may seem different from us, what can we do?
• Did Anna focus on how her and her new friends were different or how they were the same?

Senior Kids

Talk

1.     God is in all people

a.     Some people may seem different than us, but God is in all of us which makes us all the same.

2.     God made us all different

a.     It would be a boring world if we were all the same.

b.    God made some of us tall, some short, some great singers, some great actors, some good at sports.

c.     We all have blessings from God.

3.     We have more in common than we have different

a.     Although some people may do things differently

                                                  i.    Some may speak using sign language

                                                 ii.    Some may read using brail

                                                iii.    Some may walk using a wheelchair

b.    But we are more similar to people than we think

                                                  i.    If we look past our differences, we will be able to see all the ways that we are the same.

                                                 ii.    During the immersion focus on the things that you have in common with the people we are visiting.

Activity

Take the kids to an immersion. Suggestions on places to visit: Orphanage, Children’s Hospital, GK site, Schools for the deaf/blind, Special Education classes for those who have autism or learning disabilities. After you leave the immersion have the kids make a list of everything that is same between them and the kids they visited.

Discussion Questions

• What did you learn today?
• What things did you find that are the same between you and the people we visited?
• How can we be a good example to love people that others may see as different?

Take it Home

Do something nice for one of your classmates that other people think 

27. Respectful-God gave me the earth

“God looked at everything He had made,

and found it to be very good”

- Genesis 1:31

Objectives

• to teach the kids the importance of respecting the environment
• to teach the kids how to recycle

Junior Kids

Materials

·         Recyclable materials (plastic bottles, glass bottles, paper)

·         Some non recyclable materials

·         Trash Cans

Activity

Split the teams into 4-5 groups. Have each group stand in a line. Give each group a bag of clean trash (nothing that has actually been in the garbage, just recyclables). At the other end of the room have 4 trash cans labeled Glass, Paper, Plastic and Can’t recycle.

When the game begins, have the first person in the group grab one piece of trash and run it to the correct trash can. Then run back to their team and tag the next person. That person will do the same and so on until all the trash is in the correct containers. If a kid puts the trash in the wrong container, then he/she must go back to their team and put that trash item back in the bag.

The first team to empty their trash bag wins.

Story

Story of Creation (Genesis 1)

A long time ago there was nothing. No earth, no planet no stars, just darkness. But God decided to make the world.  On the first day he created the light, and he separated the light from the darkness. He called the darkness, night and the light, day. On the second day, God created sky. On the third day, God created the oceans and the dry land. He called the dry land earth. God also created the plants and trees. On the fourth day, God created the two great lights, the sun for the day and the moon for the night. On the fifth day, God created all the creatures of the sea. He made the all the fish. On the sixth day, God created all the creatures of the land, all the animals. God also created humans on this day. On the seventh day, God saw all that He had created. He saw that it was good and beautiful, so he rested.

Discussion Questions:

• What did God create first?
• What did God create last?
• What did God say about all the things that He created?
• If God loved all the things that he created, how should treat all the things that he made?
• How can we respect all the things that God made?

Senior Kids

Materials

• Clean Recyclable trash (cans, bottles, plastics, paper)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Paint

Activity

Split the group into teams of 4-6. Give them a bag full of recyclable materials and also some craft items. Give the kids 30 minutes to make something useful out of the trash. It can be art, or something that they can use everyday. Tell them to be creative and decorate their project.

Talk

1.     Why should we respect the environment?

a.     God gave us the environment to love and take care of it.

                                                  i.    (Story of Creation Genesis 1)

b.    “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” –Genesis 2:15

c.     We want this world to be a healthy world for many years to come.

2.     What can we do to respect the environment?

a.     Recycle. Throw our trash in the proper containers

b.    Don’t throw our trash on the ground.

c.     Plants trees or plants.

d.    Turn off the water when you are not using it (when you are brushing your teeth)

e.     Don’t waste food

Discussion Questions

• How did it feel to make trash into something beautiful?
• How do you think God felt when he created the earth?
• How can you take care of the environment?

Take it Home

If you do not already, ask your parents to have separate containers for the different recyclables.  

28. Respectful-Strong for God

“Thought my heart and my flesh fail,

God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever”

 – Psalm 73:26

Objectives

• to teach kids to respect themselves
• to teach kids healthy habits

Junior Kids

Activity

Dragon Tag

      Split the group up into 2-3 teams. Have each team stand in a line, with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. When the moderator says go, the person in the front of each line (the dragon head) must try to tag the last person of a different line (the dragon tale). Each line has to stay connected to each other; otherwise the dragon will be in pieces. You can play multiple rounds with different kids taking turns being the heads and tales.

     

Story

Samson (Judges 13-16)

God blessed Samson with many blessings. Samson was very strong. But God told him that to keep his strength; he was not to ever cut his hair. Samson was so strong that he even killed a lion with his bare hands. But when Samson was a grown man, he fell in love with a woman, but this woman was not a very good woman. She wanted to find out the secret of Samson strength so that she could hand him over to his enemies. She tried many times to trick Samson, but Samson wouldn’t tell her. Finally Samson got tired of her tricks and told her that to get rid of his strength all you had to do was cut his hair. The woman cut his hair and then gave him to his enemies, who made him work for them as a slave.

Discussion Questions:

• What blessing did God give to Samson?
• Why did Samson loose his strength?
• God wanted to give Samson strength, but Samson did not listen to God. What should have Samson done?
• How can we do our best to be strong for God?

Senior Kids

Activity

Split the group into 4 teams. Put each team in a corner of the room. When the moderator yells out a command (such as walk) each team must try to walk to the opposite corner of the room. This will create a lot of collision in the middle of the room, but that is part of the fun. Examples of commands: Run, Skip, Jump, Crawl, Hop, walk backwards, etc. The team that gets to the opposite corner first gets 1 point. The first team with 5 points wins.

Talk

1.     What does it mean to be healthy?

a.     When we are healthy, we exercise

b.    We make sure that we eat healthy food.

c.     We make sure that use good hygiene.

                                                  i.    We brush our teeth, take a bath…

2.     Why should we be healthy?

a.     God gave us our bodies as a gift. He wants us to keep them in the best condition that we can

b.    God is in us. Every time we do something bad for our bodies we are also hurting God.

c.     We want to be strong and healthy so that we can do God’s work.

3.     How can we stay healthy

a.     Exercise, play sports

b.    Eat good food, don’t drink soda

c.     Brush our teeth, Take showers

Discussion Group Questions

• How do you keep yourself healthy?
• How can you be healthier?

Take it Home

Everyday go outside and play or get exercise! Ask your parents to go on a walk with you.