Free Turkey Coloring Page

 Follow this link to download your free Turkey coloring page from Michaels: Football Turkey There are many more to choose from.

Free Turkey Coloring Page from Michaels'

Thanksgiving Banner Craft for Kids

Kids will enjoy making this easy and economical craft for Thanksgiving. All you need is some construction paper, ribbon, hole punch and glue. There are some free down loadable patterns included on the site at ChristianCrafts.net

http://www.christiancrafts.net/thanksgiving-craft-banner.htm

Free Coloring Page for Pastor Appreciation Sunday

Check out this free coloring page from ministry-to-children.com for Pastor Appreciation Sunday:

http://ministry-to-children.com/pastor-appreciation-coloring-page

Free Kids Church Curriculum

Group Publishing is offering a free sample lesson from their KidsOwn Worship series. The samples include:

• A 12-page Sample PDF Lesson: "God is Reliable" theme
• Preschool skit: "Thankful Pie"
• Three Mp3 recordings with kids singing 
• Love the Lord
• Give Thanks
• Praise The Lord

Check it out at:  http://sundayschool.group.com/kidsown-worship and click on Free Offers.

Trunk-or-Treat Outreach Card

Need some craft ideas for your Fall Festival or Trunk-or-Treat?
This outreach card is quick and easy plus a lollipop holder at the same time.

Since you will want to make a lot of these, try to get your youth group involved. The kids can talk and work at the same time. Buy extra lollipops!

View the craft instructions and printable download on our site

Book of Ruth Basket Craft

Here is our second Book of Ruth Craft for this week. If you have limited class time, this is a quick and easy craft. Just prepare the cutting and marking of the paper bags and handles before class. All the kids have to do is color, then you can staple the handles on. Check out the free craft instructions on our website.

Book of Ruth Basket Craft

Book of Ruth Craft

This is the first of four crafts and activities that we will be doing for our Book of Ruth lessons. Using the beautiful verse from Ruth 1:16 you can make a simple wall hanging just by using paper, glue, ribbon and a hole punch. This is a quick and simple craft that will go together quickly. The printable verse and instructions are provided on our website at: Book of Ruth Craft and Instructions.

Book of Ruth Wall Hanging Craft

Blessings and Happy Crafting!

Free Activities for your Classroom

Find Free Activities at Discount School Supply

Free Bible Verse Coloring Pages

We just added two new coloring pages to the website for the Fall season. Check them out at: www.christiancrafts.net/free-coloring-pages.htm  We will be adding new pages every week.

 

Free Bible Verse Coloring Pages

Free E-Cards for Grandparent's Day

Free ecards include your photos and videos, plus your own music.

Free Home School Resources

To help out our home school moms, the free find for this Friday is a printable Home School and Menu Planner from www.TheHomeSchoolMom.com You can easily print these planners and keep them in a notebook or put them on the refrigerator. The key to success is organization and planning!

Have a blessed Labor Day weekend!

View Our Newsletter Online

Our newsletter is back! Click here to view it on line.  Each month we will be giving away one free craft book to a randomly selected subscriber. Click here to subscribe.

Blessings!

Free Educational Videos for Home Schoolers

Looking for new resources to jump start your home school this year? Zane Education offers online educational videos for elementary, high school, college and even adult learners. Sign up for the free membership level and get access to videos and other resources. If you like what you see, they have plans starting at $5.00 up to $17.99 per month. You could easily spend that on one book. There is so much here, you will never run out of material.

Blessings!

Free Sunday School Curriculum - Calvary Chapel Children's Ministry

I am always amazed that this wonderful resource is free: Calvary Chapel Children's Ministry. Each lesson contains a memory verse, study questions, coloring page, and word searches. I use these for our Inner City Ministry classes 4th and 5th grade. The kids love the word searches; it is always a contest to see who can find the answers first. I have used some of the coloring pages with 1st and 2nd graders. The lessons are also available in Spanish.


Thank you Calvary Chapel for this wonderful ministry!

Free Find Friday - ABCTeach.com

Sorry this is a day late! My free find for this week is AbcTeach.com. If you are a home schooler, teacher or parent, you need to take a look. The site was started by Sandy Kemsley, in 2000. Sandy is a retired school teacher with a desire to continue sharing her love of teaching after leaving the classroom.

I personally use the site to print worksheets for my daughter. She loves them and so do I! You will find free printable downloads for grades preschool to eighth grade covering a wide variety of subjects. While on the site, don't forget to sign up for the free newsletter to stay on top of new added materials and updates.

In addition to all the free printable worksheets, the site offers a paid subscription to even more resources at a reasonable price.  Click here for more information. You will find this to be a great bargain. I know the last time I visited our local parent teacher store I left with a big case of sticker shock and a very small bag of books.

View the following video for more information:

Vacation Bible School Permission Forms

Permission forms are a must for any Vacation Bible School for safety and planning purposes. Did you know that they can also be used as a follow-up contact source for your outreach committee? Don't throw them away after your VBS is over. Sometimes a friendly phone call or note is all it takes to get a family to start coming to church. 

It is a good idea to offer preregistration to your church members well ahead of your kick off date.  Many of the VBS packages offer online registration tools as part of the purchased package. Offer both online and paper registration - don't leave anyone out.

We have provided a Free VBS Permission form on our site. Use the Word format if you want to edit the form or just use the PDF if you like it as it is. If you make your own, be sure to include a section for allergies or special needs. If a parent indicates that their child has allergies or special needs, make sure that this information is passed along to all of the teachers or workers who will be supervising that child.

Free Find Friday: Father's Day Cards and Coloring Pages

The free find for today is from ActivityVillage.co.uk.  This site has many ideas to keep kids busy plus lots of free printables. Visit the Father's Day page for printable cards, diplomas and much more. Be sure to sign up for their free newsletter.

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

LifeWay's 2011 VBS - Big Apple Adventure

For a list of craft kits and ideas, go to:  ChristianCrafts.net/vbs/big-apple-adventure.htm

More to come about this one later, enjoy the video:

Cokesbury VBS Theme 2011

If you like puzzles and guessing games, this will be fun for you:  Cokesbury VBS 2011 Theme Puzzle. Each week until July 1, 2010, Cokesbury will present a new puzzle clue to their 2011 Vacation Bible School Theme. If you just don't have time, scroll down the page and a button will complete the puzzle for you. I can't wait to find out what it is, I just can't figure this out.

Here is the clue for week number 4:  http://www.cokesburyvbs.com/vbs-2011-theme/index.php

Clues for Prior weeks:

Week # 1
Week # 2
Week # 3

My guess is something about nature and junk food. Maybe this is a theme to fight childhood obesity?

Free Find Friday - Fight Childhood Obesity

Does childhood obesity worry you? The statistics are heartbreaking. We can make a difference in the lives of our children and students.  NourishInteractive.com is not only educational but fun and FREE! Here are just a few of the great resources offered on the site:

• Free online games children can play and learn about exercise and proper nutrition
• Free Meal planner nutrition tool
• Free printable information to send home to parents

Last Minute Vacation Bible School Craft Ideas

Time has a way of creeping up on us and even passing us by. Maybe that is your situation or VBS got thrown into your lap at the last minute. Here are some quick and easy craft ideas that you can use:

• Make jewelry out of pasta. All you need are different shapes of pasta and some yarn
• Sculpting with Clay. Get some quick dry clay and let the kids create something based on your lesson
• Bookmarks as a craft.  You will need construction paper, stickers, hole punch and ribbons.
• Woven paper mat. Cut strips of paper and weave them together to form a mat. Secure the ends with tape

In these last-minute situations, craft kits can be a true life saver. Check out the 5 Day VBS Craft Kit pack. You get enough crafts to last five days for up to 24 attendees. This craft pack is only recommended for children six years older and up.

Happy Crafting!

High Seas Adventure Vacation Bible School

High Seas Adventure is Group Publishing's  "Easy VBS" for 2010. The five-day VBS curriculum is based on the journeys of the Apostle Paul and utilizes a station concept. There are four stations which allow 20 to 25 minutes each and then on to the floating finale. Each station will reinforce the daily Bible point and story.The five Bible points are:

1. God's Word is true.
2. God's Word is comforting.
3. God's Word is surprising.
4. God's Word is life-changing.
5. God's Word is for everyone.

As always, Group Publishing has provided lots of on-line support and information. Visit the Podcast page for helpful training tips. The Group forum is another invaluable resource. If you have a question or problem, just post it and you will receive an answer from one of their staff or from another customer with a similar experience. The dates for their VBS U have already passed but be sure to start early next year and visit the Group site for a VBS U in your area.

One concept that may be new to you, if you have not used a Group VBS before, is mixing the age groups. For instance, at the elementary level you would have a mixture of all grades. Mixing the age groups supposedly cuts down on discipline problems because peers are not trying to impress each other with disruptive behavior.

The curriculum offers age-specific programs developed for the following groups:

• Nursery
• Preschool
• Elementary
• Youth

Your decorating focus should be nautical without bringing in beach elements. Many low-cost but effective ideas are suggested in the curriculum: blue tarp-like material for water, paper-bag blocks, cardboard box boats. You can also find a wide variety of High Seas Adventure VBS crafts and  props at ChristianCrafts.net

View the Video for highlights and more information:

Free Find Friday!

Check the blog every Friday afternoon for links to free stuff  for teachers. We will search the web each week and find something for you!

This Friday our free find is:  Free Sunday School Curriculum from PreSchool Sunday School Central. This is a great site, they offer many free resources for Sunday School teachers. If you would like access to more, you can pay a low yearly fee of $15.99 (as of this writing).

Have a great weekend!

ChristianCrafts.net

Hero Headquarters Vacation Bible School 2010

Hero Headquarters is the 2010 VBS by Standard Publishing. The premise is that we can all be heroes in God's Kingdom. The curriculum outlines fictional accounts of heroes that are not in the Bible but still do wonderful things in the eyes of the Lord.

Hero Headquarters promises to offer:

• Easy Planning
• Powerful Projects to Make and Share
• Flexible and Full of Options
• Easy to Decorate
• Relevant for All Ages

The snacks are quite creative. How can you go wrong with "Naaman Dippers" and "Miracle Man Salad"? The crafts and activities will keep kids involved and singing a tune!

For more information, go to the Free Downloadable Planning Book. This publication provides a wealth of information on everything from music, snack and activities. The program can be adapted for kids of all ages.

From all appearances, Hero Headquarters promises to be a lot of fun with meaningful lessons that kids will enjoy and apply to their lives. I give this one a thumbs up! My only reservation about this program is that it seems to promote teachers wearing capes tied around their necks. While this may be okay for adults, it can be a choking hazard for children. Standard Publishing offers a safe alternative on their website: http://www.standardpub.com  Their VBS Hero's Cape has been fully safety tested and will not put pressure on the neck area. If you use home made capes as props, let children know they should not do this at home!

Links to Resources on ChristianCrafts.net

• Vacation Bible School Curriculum
• Craft Kits

View this video for an overview of the program:

Vacation Bible School 2010

It is amazing to me how Vacation Bible School has changed since I was a kid (that is longer ago than I care to mention). I remember that VBS was fun but I really can't tell you anything memorable about the lessons. The only difference from our Sunday School classes is that we would get to have a snack and go out and play when it was all over. If we did any crafting at all, it was a coloring page.

Today we are more focused on what kids like and what gets them involved and learning. Companies like Standard, Gospel Light and more have come up with wonderful theme-oriented teaching packages that take a lot of the work out of Vacation Bible School Preparations. I greatly admire those who can write their own lessons and come up with creative ideas - that is a great blessing. However, if you are like me and most people I know, you are pressed for time and need help in the creativity department.

Today Vacation Bible School has grown from a daytime program for children into a community outreach opportunity for churches. It is more important than ever to take advantage of every chance to reach as many members and potential members as possible. Getting it right takes planning and preparation.

At ChristianCrafts.net it is our mission to gather as much information about VBS curriculum choices to help you make the wisest decision possible. If you are still trying to decide on a program, be sure to check out this blog in the next week as we review choices and curriculum. Not only will we give details about each package but we will also give price comparisons. It is more important now than ever to be wise stewards of church funds and we understand. We hope that our website and blog will be a valuable resource now and for years to come.

Blessings!

Quick and Easy Banner Craft for VBS

A quick and simple banner craft will fit into just about any Vacation Bible School Theme. The great thing about banners is that you can make them with very simple supplies that you may already have in your craft closet. I have outlined materials and instructions for a "Craft Foam" banner at ChristianCrafts.net. The idea came to me because I have a lot of foam sheets and stickers left over from other projects. All you need to do is punch holes in the top for hanging and let the kids decorate them. If you want to get fancy and have time to let the project dry, you can add glitter glue for that extra sparkle. The best part of the project is that there is no sewing!

Read More About it at: www.ChristianCrafts.net

Saddle Ridge Ranch Crafts

Are you doing a Western Theme VBS this year or are you using Saddle Ridge Ranch? Here are some videos with great decorating ideas. I wish these had been around years ago when I was trying to build a faux camp fire! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjjqEP9Veyc You can make the most wonderful decorations from items that you already have.

Check out the Saddle Ridge Ranch Craft Page at www.christiancrafts.net

Snack Ideas for Vacation Bible School

Need some ideas for your Vacation Bible School Snacks? Read this article for some guidelines and suggestions. Vacation Bible School Snack Ideas. Feel free to share any ideas or suggestions you have on this blog.

Sunday School Valentine Craft John 3:16

I have used this pattern in my classes for many years from second graders to fourth and fifth graders. It is fairly simple and the kids always enjoy it!

Just download the free PDF pattern and embellish with doilies, stickers or whatever you have. Patterns and instructions are located on our website at ChristianCrafts.net