Jesus Calms The Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

Today, I had one of my regular Wednesday morning chapel services with the preschoolers from our half day program. One things I love about kids (and something that makes other people uncomfortable) is that you just never quite know what they are going to say! As they were leaving today, I was bombarded with sweet, knee-level hugs. Then, one little boy (about three years old) asked,"Are you Jesus?" Before I could even answer, a little girl in his class piped up, "No! She's God!" Ha!! I explained that I was neither Jesus nor God, but I knew about them both and like helping kids learn about them, too. 

I guess, maybe, their question was understandable since I had just led them in creating and calming a storm - like Jesus! 😉

I love teaching children this story because it is one they can really relate to - which is not always the case with some of the more abstract bible stories and very concrete-minded little ones. However, almost all kids have experienced a thunderstorm and I would venture to say that most young children are at least a little scared of them. So, they can understand that the disciples were scared when they heard the thunder, saw the lightening, and felt their boat rocking and rolling in the waves. 

They can also understand the aspect of something that brings them comfort when they are scared - maybe a teddy bear, a special blanket, a pet, or a parent. So, I am able to correlate that to the way Jesus brought comfort to the disciples - he calmed the storm which also calmed the people's fears.

Giving young children the opportunity to move and/or participate in the story is a great way to grab their attention, to get them excited about what they are hearing, and help them remember what they have heard. So, here is a great, fun way to tell this story. 

This part is optional, but I like to begin by playing the sounds of thunderstorm for the children. You can find CD's with these sound effects, easily download a thunderstorm track, or even play one via YouTube. (THIS is video and sound of a storm at sea you could even show them.)

After listening to the storm sounds, I tell the kids that the bible story we are going to hear is about a big thunderstorm and that we are going to make our own storm with our bodies. Here's how you do that:

1. Begin by leading the children in rubbing their hands together (as if warming them up). 
2. Then, have children tap two fingers (index and middle) on the palm of their opposite hand. (Older children can snap their fingers, but young children do not have the dexterity to do this.)
3. Getting louder! Now, begin fully clapping hands.
4. Then, pat thighs using both hands.
5. Add some stomping for thunder!
6. Now, reverse! Do it all backwards to represent the storm calming down. 

Confused? Here is a YouTube video of some children doing a version of that might help to offer a better example. 😊

If time permits, I like to have the children make the storm once. Then I tell the story. After that, we make the storm again and I interject repeated bits of the story such as, "Oh, the rain is getting harder and I bet the disciples are getting worried!" or "Wow! It's a really big storm now and their boat is rocking on the waves!" and "Okay! Jesus is awake and the storm is beginning to clam down just like he told it to!" 
It's really a fun one to do and the kids always love it!  Do you have any fun ideas for engaging kids in this story?

Four Friends (Mark 2:1-12)

This stroy is one that is frequently included in children's curriculum and with good reason. It's a great story. When using it with children there are several different themes you could focus on. 

Of course, there is the theme of friendship. The four friends were so determined to get their paralyzed buddy to Jesus that they went to great lengths to do it.

There is also the fact that the people in the house did not believe that Jesus was God. Therefore, they did not believe he could heal the man. Obviously, he proved them wrong. 

Lastly, it is a story of faith - the faith the friends had in Jesus, the faith the paralyzed man had in Jesus and in his friends, and the faith the people did not have in Jesus' power. 

A few years ago, I was looking for a creative way to tell this story and stumbled across this YouTube Video. It was such a creative yet simple way to tell the story. I used this example and assembled my own "magic storyteller" using four bright yellow sentence strips and a few brads.  

(By the way - This is not me in the video and I take no credit for this amazing creativity!)

Wasn't that cool??? I've done this a few times now and, every time, the children and the grownups are all amazed - which is crazy because it really is so simple! 

Here is a link to a printable version as well. Give it a try and your kids will think you're magic, too! 😊

Sink or Float: Jesus Walks On Water (John 6:16-25)

Each week, I lead a preschool chapel lesson with three, four, and five year olds from our church's half-day preschool program. It's truly the highlight of my week!

Last week in preschool chapel, I was teaching story of Jesus walking on water. I needed an attention grabber/demonstration that would incorporate water, but not get all the children wet! I went with an old standard - the sink or float game! 

To start with, I had a clear plastic tub filled about halfway with water. In a separate container, I brought several different objects that would be familiar to the children and made sure to include some items that would float and some that would sink. Some item suggestions are:

• wooden blocks (one big one and one small one)
• crayon
• marker
• cookie cutter
• plastic animal
• pencil
• small ball
• paper clip
• rock
• Legos
• keys
• toy food
• stuffed animal (if it can get wet)
• coins
• toy person (such as a Barbie doll)

I started by telling the kids we were going to play a game. I told them I would hold up an item and I wanted them to show me "thumbs up" if they thought it would float on top of the water or "thumbs down" if they thought it would sink to the bottom. I went through each item, holding it up, waiting for their response, and then testing it out. 

Shown are a metal cookie cutter, green block, rubber duck, and marker.

I used the toy person last. Then, I asked them what would happen if a real person tried to stand on top of the water. Many of them said, "He would swim!" Several, however, said the person would sink. Then, I told them the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter coming out to meet him.

Of course, the whole point of this particular bible story is to remind us that we need to keep our faith in God - when our faith waivers (like Peter's), we start to "sink." The concept of faith, however is difficult for really young children to understand. It's too abstract. So, I simply explained it by saying that when we forget Jesus loves us and is with us, we get in trouble - like Peter. But, if we remember Jesus loves us, we will be safe. 

In chapel, we don't do any crafts or activity sheets, but if you are doing this lesson in another context, here are some links to a few resources that might be helpful:

• Word Search
• Fill-in-the-Blank Decoder Activity
• Maze
• Find the Differences Pictures
• Some group Activities/Games

What creative ideas and activities do yo have for this lesson? 

Blessings,
Lisa
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Why this blog?

I became a christian educator quite by chance. I guess, sometimes, God really does have plans for us that we cannot see. 

I graduated from college, what seems like forever ago, with a degree in child development. Then, I taught special needs preschoolers for a few years before having our first daughter. At that time, my husband and I decided that I would be a stay at home mom. It was just the decision that made the most sense for our family at the time and what I felt I wanted to do. Along the way, we added two more daughters and I was the quintessential stay at home mom. I volunteered at their preschool and elementary school. I attended a moms' bible study at our church and volunteered on all the church committees surrounding children and christian education. I even started a mommy blog.  

Then, eleven years later, when my three daughters were in sixth, third, and first grades, God called. Well, actually, it was the Christian Education director from my church on the phone. She told me the current children's ministry person was leaving. That person was already the third in five years, so the position and the congregation needed some familiarity and stability. Knowing that I had a background in child development and that I had already served on basically every committee and participated in every event the person in the position would oversee, she asked if I would consider taking it on temporarily. It would only be for about 3-4 months as an interim so they could take some time to find a permanent person. After much discussion with my husband, consideration, and prayer, I said yes. After all, it was only part time and just for a few months. I could work my schedule around all the school carpool runs I needed to do and my time would be up before my kids were out of school for summer vacation.

That was February of 2013. 

After two years of serving as an interim and a search for someone permanent coming up empty, the church session asked me if I would take the job permanently (but, still part time) and, again, I said yes. 

So why start this blog?

Well, it didn't take long serving in children's ministry (even before being employed there) to realize that many themes and stories are repeated when teaching children about God. That's okay. In fact, that's great because young children learn through repetition. But, I often felt like I was constantly reinventing the wheel trying to come up with new ways to teach the same things. So, I wanted to find a way to keep a record of ideas and methods I had used. At first, I thought I would start notebook. Then, I though I would pin them all on Pinterest. Neither of those ideas seemed efficient, though. Then, it hit me. I already had a blog, so what if I just created another one. That way, I could keep track of ideas as well as share with others. 

So, why "Handprints of Faith?" As I was contemplating this blog, whether to actually do it, and what to title it, I was sitting in the living room of my house looking out a large window. It was smudged with handprints from my kids and my even younger nieces. The children weren't there, but they had left an "imprint" that made me think of them days later. I hope that's what I am doing with Christian Education - leaving an imprint that children will remember when I'm not there to teach them anymore. I hope that each little lesson I teach, no matter how silly or trivial, will leave on them an imprint of God that they will carry with them throughout their lives.

This blog will mostly consist of lessons I've done in preschool chapel, as children's sermons, or at other events like Sunday School. I will try to include links to coloring pages, etc. in order to "centralize" it all. Occasionally, I may also include additional posts about some trends in Christian education or thought on other topics  It will take time to build, of course, as anything strong does. So, if you don't find what you are looking for right away, please come back again. If you have a creative idea to share, send me a message or leave me a comment. After all, it does take a village, right? 

Blessings,
Lisa