"What do I get?"

I hear that all too often.  "If I do it, what are you going to give me?" Whether at church, at home or at school, our kids have been programmed to ask this.  Why?  Because we give them prizes and treats for everything! :) It is hard to motivate without them, but we don't want to create a mentality where kids ONLY do something in order to GET something.  So, what are we to do as educators to motivate?  Because, let's face it...some of the things we want the kids to learn aren't exciting enough right now for them to want to learn :)  Let's use the example of Bible verses - because many churches do that.  Children don't understand that years from now, when things aren't going the way they want, that those verses they memorized will help get them through those difficult times.  Kids live in the here and now - they can't fathom the future.  So...they need some motivation.  Again I ask, as educators, what can we do??  BE CREATIVE AND ...

Sometimes we want to motivate a class, sometimes an individual.  Each idea that I'm going to share has an individual and group suggestion.  There are five ideas - surely one of them can be tweaked to fit your class environment!

Our kids, whether we like it or not, know how to use electronics (better than we do;) and they speak that "language".  Video games and apps know how to motivate and get kids playing and learning.  So let's learn from them and use their language!  The kids understand it so why not?  Here are two words that you hear in almost every kids' game/app - "upgrade or level-up" and "unlock".  Every game/app, once a child gets to a certain point, let's them "upgrade" something, go to the next level or they get to "unlock" something.  I just downloaded a Bible memory app for kids and the motivator?  Every time a child learns a verse, they "unlock" an animal sound.  That's it.  As simple as that.  They get to push a button and hear an animal noise.  I don't think we need to get any more complicated than that! :)

So how can we apply these two words to church?  Easy!  Here are 5 ways you can motivate your kiddos by letting them "level-up", "upgrade" or "unlock" something!  Almost all of them lead to something they can do together - and I'll give ideas for that at the end.

1.  Puzzles - I don't mean crossword or word search...I mean actual puzzles with pieces.
         group:  If you want to motivate the entire group, buy a large blank puzzle from somewhere like oriental trading or amazon.  Or make one.  My suggestion - make it extremely easy to put together.  Number the pieces or draw the outline so the kids only have to match the shape and leave the puzzle blank.  Why?  Write a secret message on it.  You can get UV pens and lights from amazon for pretty cheap :)  Once they get a few pieces up there they'll start to ask why it's blank.  You could give them a little teaser and let them use the light to see what they can read.  You will need to figure out how you are going to measure each piece...when 5 kids memorize a verse, a piece goes up? (they "unlock" a piece)  or, when a class memorizes a verse...or some other way of measurement.  When the whole puzzle is complete (make sure the last few pieces contain the surprise!), shine the light and reveal your surprise!

         Individual:  Amazon has a pack of 24 small blank puzzles for $12 and they work pretty good.  You could get a small puzzle for each child.  For each verse they learn, the put a piece together.  you could draw the outline into the top of a shoebox and have them glue the pieces in.  Again, you could either write on them with sharpies so they can see it right away...or you could write with the UV pen.

2.  Marbles! - Many teachers have marble jars.  This is the same kind of idea as the above, in that when a child memorizes a verse, they put a marble in the jar - or, they "unlock" a piece.  When the jar is full, the group gets something.  You could make it more individualized for a class by giving each child a different colored marble...and they have to have at least 3(?) marbles in the jar in order to get to participate in the surprise (or something like that).

3.  Level - up!  Reach the ceiling!  Somewhere in your room create a measuring device.  Maybe put up a number every time ten kids learn a verse (?) - or whatever works for your group/class.  Once they reach your goal, they "level-up" and you put the next number up.  You could use a picture of anything or any kind of shape.  The point is, make sure it is a visual "climb" from the ground up to the ceiling, progressing in value.  once you reach the top, you get the "surprise".  This could also be made for individuals.  You could make it smaller on a bulletin board - as long as they know where the starting and ending point is.  Right now our theme at church is "kick-off" for the beginning of the year and our hallway is decorated like a football field.  I could make a bulletin board with pictures of the kids with a football helmet on their heads at one goal line and give them each a "football" in the endzone.  Each time they memorize a verse, their football moves ten yards (or, the move up another level).  When they score a touchdown - they get the surprise :)

4.  Apps - I have found two apps that help keep track of rewards.  "Stickerpop reward chart" and "rewards express".  Keep track of their progress (as a group or individually) on the app.  When they reach their goal - they get the surprise!

5.  Wheel of Fortune :)  Whatever your surprise is going to be, cut out the letters that spell it.  Every time they reach a goal, they unlock a letter.  Don't let them figure it out too far ahead of time because then it won't be as motivating!  Maybe put the letters in the wrong order ;)  Once they spell the surprise...they get it!

Ok.  So now you have LOTS of ways that the kids can visually track their progress to their surprise.  Now you have to decide - what is the surprise going to be?  Well, here are a number of options.  But please, please, please with sugar on top and a cherry on top...don't fill them with treats and sweets.  Don't let your surprise be cupcakes or a party with punch and cookies.  I'm begging you!  Our kids are more obese than in any other country, we have diabetic kids and special needs kids with special diets and we have allergies like never before.  Please stay away from treats.  I feel like my kids get cookies and candy shoved at them every day from somewhere - don't let it be the church!  Teach them how to take care of their bodies - that includes eating healthy!  So here are some non-candy/treat rewards :)  If you would like to buy ($1.50) my reward tickets (called "Blessing tickets") to have something tangible the kids can see/hold, they are on my teachers pay teachers store.  There are 11 for individuals and 11 for the class/group and one blank for each to write your own.

1.  Getting together after church for (a healthy) lunch - this could be something like a potluck where everyone brings something, or you order in (like subs) or you meet out at a restaurant.

2.  a group outing - laser tag, bowling, bounce place, etc.

3.  Change up your sunday school for one sunday - have a movie morning with popcorn and water, have an organized game morning where you play games or go outside or go to the gym if you have one.  Or, have rotations and let them spend 10-15 minutes in each room playing with legos, or crafting, or games or a short program (something for every type of child).  Have a technology day - if your church has ipads or computers let them have some freeplay!

4.  Make it even simpler and make the goal easy to obtain so that they reach the goal every month.  Do they have a favorite song they like to sing?  Or favorite game they like to play?  Or a dance or a video?  Whenever they reach their goal, they get to do it!

5.  Take a page from the Bible memory app that I mentioned above.  Find 10 silly videos on youtube that would make them laugh - they could be biblical or not...just something that would get them laughing out loud :)  Put the list up somewhere but cover up the pictures/words.  Every time they level up they can watch a video, or whenever they reach their "goal" they get to watch a video.

And did you know (I just found this out!!) that amazon sells scratch off reward cards that you actually make and write your own reward on them?  And the kids scratch them off?!  It's genius!!! Here's the link :)  24 cards for $7.

I could keep going, but by now you probably are thinking about your kiddos and what they like and what would work best for them.  Hopefully, this has gotten your creative juices flowing :)  If you come up with another idea that works for you, list it in the comments so people can get even more ideas!

Enjoy your kids and God bless you in your work :)

-L

My favorite blogposts for Christian Educators!

So I've been writing blogs now for a while and started wondering how many I had written just for Christian Educators.  I thought I'd make a list...then I thought...why not turn it into a blog ;) lol.  so - here are my blogposts just for Children's Christian Educators!  I had more than I thought - 46 to be exact!! Click on the picture or link to go to the blog.

1.  Do you have a Trunk or Treat at your church?  If not, consider it - it's a fun, inter-generational ministry that provides a safe place for the kiddos in your neighborhood!  

2.  I love the idea behind Advent Angels and I've done it almost every year since my kids were born.  I get the church involved as well!  It's another wonderful outreach activity that is also inter-generational!  

3.  One year at a church we organized a Parent/Child Valentine's Dance.  I looked around for months for ideas and put the ones I decided on in a blog :)  it was a lot of fun...I need to do it again!

4.  Maybe you could do a little cheer-spreading around your church neighborhood :)  Easy to do RAK's and not expensive!

5.  Want to have a Christian Easter Egg hunt with Christian fillers?  Here's an ideas...

6.  Looking for some good religious Christmas books that don't talk about Santa?  Here are some great ones recommended by other Christian Educators!

7.  10 fun ways to celebrate kids' birthdays in the church!!

8.  Some great apps you could use in your ministry!  31 ideas!  For some reason, google deleted the pics of the apps...but the names and links are still there :)  

9.  Looking for free resources you can use at church?  Here's a list of 28 sites!!  All free! :)

10.  Here are some Bible study books other Christian Educators have used in their churches.  I have not checked them all out so make sure they fit your theology before starting a class!  

11.  Here are some great ideas for worship music for your kiddos.  These were all suggestions off of different facebook groups I'm in!

12.  Sometimes it's hard to think of ways our children can serve others...here are some super fun ideas!

13.  A lot of churches are using worship bags now...here are some really neat ideas of things to put in them!!

14.  Leading your first Easter Egg Hunt can be daunting...here are some hints to get you started :)

15.  This is just an idea we had once to have our church "outside" of church :)  I thought it was a really cool idea but we didn't really do it.  Hopefully for the future!!

                                                      

16.  I love writing my own VBS!  It also can be a little scary to do your first one - but I've got lots of ideas here plus some of my own supplies if you want to use them!

17.  So I mentioned above that I used apps at church...here are some lesson plans i've written for Sunday school just for the ipad (and no the apps rarely include games!)

18.  this was just a cute idea I came up with for a t-shirt design for "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" - which was one of my VBS's :)

19.  Do you struggle with "prizes" or "rewards" in church?  Here are some ideas that aren't "candy" and trinkets"!  

20.  Many churches are leaning towards intergenerational ministry, which is wonderful!  Sometimes it's hard to think of fun, fellowship activities that all ages can do together.  So, with the help of lots of other Christian Educators, I compiled a wonderful list!

21.  A necessary evil - FUNDRAISING.  Want to make it fun?  Here are some wonderful and creative ideas that other churches have done!

22.  A couple years ago I started creating faith-based games to play with kids and youth.  I've now made around 50!  So, to commemorate the occasion, I wrote a blogpost that explained briefly each game :)  

23.  I was getting tired of spending hours preparing for an egg hunt when it only lasted 5 minutes :)  So, I created a way to make it not only last longer, but make it more fun, interactive, and religious!

24.  One of my most viewed blogs - especially during the pandemic! 

25.  Sometimes we need some filler games or a fun and interactive game to get our meetings started.  I went on a hunt for some popular ones used by other Christian Educators...here's what I found!

26.  So far, I've written 10 religious Escape rooms!  To help people decide which one to buy, I wrote a blog that describes each one!

27.  Are your board games getting stale and old?  Need some new ones to spice up your game nights or youth group game meetings?  I asked youth directors and Christian Educators what their groups favorite games were and I got almost 100 answers!!  They are organized by how many can play at one time, and then by age.  

28.  What kind of events can you do with your church...but OUT in the community?  Here are some fun ideas to create fellowship with your church OUTSIDE of your four walls!

29.  I've heard many SS teachers say that they have trouble with their prek curriculas...that they want to find some fun and new activities for their littlest cherubs.  Here are a few ideas I found and/or made specifically for preschoolers!

30.  You saw my Trunk or treat blogpost above, but this one is more specific.  What makes your Trunk or treat better than all the others?  I'll tell you - interactive trunks!!  And here are 25 very creative and great interactive trunk ideas to keep your families around longer! 

31.  Do your kids worship in the sanctuary with the adults?  (I hope so...at least part of the service).  If they do, here is a wonderful way to engage them while they are in the pews as well as teach them something!  

32.  Looking for a new way to tell the Easter message on Easter morning?  Here is a great interactive children's sermon I created that uses butterflies to help tell the story of the Resurrection.

33.  Lenten Goodie bags - During the pandemic, I sent home these goodie bags with each family so that they could celebrate and learn about Lent at home!

34.  Do you know people in your church that are alone on Christmas Eve?  That are homebound?  That are sick or in the hospital?  Have your kids or youth make these joy bags and deliver them to people right before Christmas.  Make sure it says, "open on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning on it!"

35.  These "blessing jars" are FANTASTIC!  I made one over a decade ago at a mom's group and used it with my own children for at least 10 years!  We LOVED it :)  We used it at dinner every evening!

36.  This "Twisted Mystery Thanksgiving Dinner" was absolutely hilarious!!  So much fun!  I highly recommend it as a fellowship dinner with your youth!

37.  Easter Alleluia butterflies - Thank you Illustrated Ministries for this wonderful idea.  This is how we tweaked it for our church!  You start at the beginning of Lent, and finish on Easter Sunday!

38.  This is a fun little Teacher Appreciation idea I did one year.  Turned out to be a wonderful gift and the teachers loved it!

39.  Looking for some fun, religious games you can play with your volunteers, staff, or other adult group?  Why should kids have all the fun!?  Adults need group building as well!  Enjoy these fun games I made!

40.  Guess the Emoji Bible Games.  This is one of my best selling games and there are 4 versions - Easter/Holy Week, Christmas, Bible stories, and Parables.  

41.  How do you welcome new members into your church?  Click to get some fun swag ideas as well as follow up suggestions.

42.  I'm very excited to offer this new product to everyone.  I spent a couple months while I was in Peru writing a family friendly, interactive month-long devotional on thanksgiving!  

43.  Summer Take out box ideas :)  I collected some fun ideas of items to include in your summer church "to go" boxes!

44.  We all love to do glow parties, but it's hard coming up with new ideas, games, and activities to do under black lights!  So, I browsed the interwebs and found some great and creative new things you can try! 

45.  This blogpost has been well received - and with good reason!  There are some incredible alternatives to VBS out there that other educators have thought up.  Although I still love VBS, I know it just isn't feasible for some congregations.  So, here is a collection of ideas from various groups and pages of summer alternatives to VBS!  There are some very creative people out there!

46. My favorite fundraiser to date was an "Easter Egging" we did before Holy Week.  It was my favorite because it was also a community outreach!  If you haven't heard of it, check it out!  It was awesome! 

So there ya go!!  maybe I'll keep adding some more as I get inspired at church and by other educators!  We're always a work in progress :)

God bless!