Preparing to Walk Through Holy Week Together

Journeying through Holy Week with children can be a challenge. The altered schedule, additional services, and the overall intensity of the week are a lot for anyone to participate in and to fully embrace, regardless of their age. However, a little pre-planning can focus each person’s attention during the Holy Week journey, allowing for a beautiful and more peaceful experience for grownups and kids alike. We have gathered a handful of resources that may help. We have included ideas of ways that you can prepare ahead of time in order to be ready for the whole week, as well as ways to encourage children to embrace each day’s experiences and service(s). We hope that one or more of these will be helpful to you and the children in your care.

To Prepare for the Week as a Whole:

Here are ideas for learning boxes for young children to explore during Holy Week, offering a hands-on way for little children (or anyone who understands the world better through tactile experiences) to interact with the events of the week as it unfolds.

Find a variety of craft ideas and resources for engaging children in Holy Week.

Check out The Children’s Word, a free printable resource that is offered every Sunday (not just during Lent). It offers insights and activities for children to engage in, every Sunday, to help them better understand what they’re experiencing in the Liturgy.

The Center for Family Care of the GOA offers this guide to Holy Week that is helpful to parents and teachers alike. It includes an entire page of ways to prepare ahead of time, to enhance the experience of the week. It also has useful information about each service of Holy Week that can hone your focus.

Print and assemble a booklet for each child to take with them to the services of Holy Week. Each service’s activities are listed in order, with a pictorial listing included as well, to help the children follow along in the service. These free downloadable booklets are available in a variety of forms and languages.

Lazarus Saturday activities:

This Lazarus game uses pre-wrapped treats, passed around a small group of children, to illustrate a point. *Note: if the children in your care have allergies, please keep those in mind as you prepare the treats, or select small prizes that are non-food gifts.

Find several resources (including a book suggestion, craft idea, and even a recipe) for helping children learn about Lazarus Saturday in this blog post.

Practice folding palm crosses.

Palm Sunday activities:

Find a simple retelling of the story of Palm Sunday, an activity page, and even a lesson plan from OrthodoxABC.

Read the Palm Sunday story, written in easy-to-understand language.

Here you will find a printable guide to Palm Sunday and Holy Week for kids.

(Also, find Bridegroom Services info for older children and parents/teachers.)

Holy Week activities:

Here is a helpful webinar with ideas of ways to help children participate in Holy Week.

Find brief descriptions of the Holy Week services, written in a way that children can understand.

Find practical, hands-on tips for helping children to better experience Holy Week here: http://orthodoxeducation.blogspot.com/2010/03/holy-week-for-kids.html?m=1 and here: https://www.orthodoxmom.com/blog/2011/04/18/holy-week-activities-for-kids. 

Find a fantastic selection of lesson plans, discussion ideas, and activity suggestions for helping children “Journey to Pascha”. The lessons are leveled by age group, so be sure to check out each lesson for the ages of your children! (There are also many printable pdfs including a “Guide to Holy Week” that children can take with them or read, prior to each service.)

Spend some time looking closely at the icons of Holy Week, and then talk together about these insightful questions related to each one.

Make a mural for the events of Holy Week.

Watch a 5-minute story, animated with Legos, from the Last Supper through the resurrection.

See the 25-minute animated story of Holy Week through the resurrection from The Beginner’s Bible.

Find printable coloring pages for Holy Week.

The Pascha Preparations page on the Sparks 4 Orthodox Kids site has a free Holy Week Coloring Booklet, a coloring page for “Lord Of the Powers” hymn, as well as a few craft ideas.

Holy Thursday activities:

Jesus washed His disciples’ feet word search. 

Find a printable Holy Thursday notebooking page.

Read the Last Supper story written in easy-to-understand language.

Find the Last Supper icon to color from the OCA Department of Christian Education.

Find a printable, colorable icon of Christ washing His disciples’ feet, also from OCA Department of Christian Education. 

Holy Friday activities:

Quiet activities for Holy Friday and Saturday.

Printable coloring pages for Holy Friday.

Read the story of the crucifixion written in easy-to-understand language.

Print the crown of thorns icon to color.

Print a colorable icon of the crucifixion.

Find a printable, colorable icon of the burial of Christ.

Preparing to Begin Great Lent

Great Lent is coming soon! Every year, Great Lent is a joyful time of opening our hearts more fully to Christ, as we prepare to celebrate His resurrection. It offers us a wonderful opportunity to evaluate our Christian life and begin to implement changes that enable us to better love God and our fellow humans. We have gathered a handful of resources that may be helpful to you and the children in your care. Here are some of the resources that we have gathered, beginning with part of a helpful article by Ann Marie Gidus-Mercera, called “Ways to Share Great Lent and Pascha with Your Child,” from Orthodox Family Life, printed in 1997. (Used by permission.)

Take your child to Church!

Whenever a service is scheduled, plan to attend. Services like The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete may be physically tiring with the many prostrations, but don’t think your child can’t be a part of them. In my own parish, which is filled with pre-schoolers, the children do a great job of making prostrations right along with the adults. Many of the children will join in as “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me” is sung. This experience is good for our children! If they see their parents attending services, they get the message that attending Church is important. If we bring our children to Church with us (both young and old), they get the message that their presence in Church is important. The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is especially good for teaching our children that we worship with our entire bodies.

Explain the service that your family will be attending.

Notice that the word “family” is used in the first sentence. Now is a good time to stress that the entire family should be attending services. My husband can’t make it home from work in time for all of us to get to services together, but he always meets us at Church. This tells our children that Church is important enough for Daddy to meet us there. As children get older, homework and after-school activities may tempt them (and us!) to skip Church services. Don’t let it! First of all, if we give in, then what we’re really telling them is that worldly affairs are more important than spiritual affairs. By allowing our children to miss Church, we make it extremely easy for them to fall away as teenagers or young adults.

Last of all, if we allow our older children to miss Church, we are telling our younger children that Church is not important when they get to be big sister or big brother’s age. Enforcing Church attendance by the entire family is no easy task. In fact, enforcing it may be one of the hardest jobs you encounter. Sticking to your rule will be even tougher. It’s a choice we must make as Orthodox parents. Maybe it makes our task easier if we ask ourselves, “What would God want us to do?” The answer is obvious.

Prepare your child for Lent.

The weeks prior to Lent help us take on the right frame of mind for entering Lent. Let them do the same for your child. Read the stories and let your child color [or draw] the pictures prior to attending the Sunday services. You may want to read the story again on Saturday evening, or let your child take the color sheet to Church. A simple reminder Sunday morning concerning what the service and gospel reading will contain can be enough. Pre-schoolers have the ability to remember even the briefest of comments (even when it’s something we DON’T want them to remember!) Keep your explanation simple and BRIEF in order to hold his/her attention. Don’t try to go into a long and draw-out explanation or s/he will lose interest. If s/he has questions or comments, answer them briefly.

Don’t feel mountains have to be moved the day Lent begins, or even during Lent.

It might be a quiet, even uneventful day. That’s okay! Nothing magical needs to happen. We must only be ready to give our hearts to Christ, and we should gladly hand them over in an effort to be a good example to our children. This is our greatest task as Orthodox Christian parents.

Here are some additional resources that you may find helpful: 

Here is a printable Lenten-focused activity calendar, highlighting important days during Great Lent. This pdf features daily suggestions of activities that families can do together, with the goal of engendering a more Christ-centered life during the Lenten fast. Find the calendar here: https://orthodoxchristianparenting.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/updated_great-lent-and-holy-week-activity-calendar.pdf

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Find lessons and activity ideas that can be helpful for families or Church school teachers during all of Great Lent here: https://orthodoxpebbles.com/orthodox-basics/great-lent/

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With this free printable page, children can create a “Lenten Treasure Chest” that they can fill throughout Great Lent with “coins” of REAL value: https://moam.info/lenten-treasure-chest-annunciation-greek-orthodox-church_59cdc1d31723ddf9655ed9fe.html 

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This blog offers ideas of ways to encourage children to participate throughout Great Lent: http://illumination-learning.com/main/2015/02/14/living-our-faith-its-too-hard-for-my-kids/.

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If you are interested in additional fasting meal suggestions, here are two links that may be helpful:

https://orthodoxfastingrecipes.wordpress.com/

https://www.orthodoxmom.com/orthodox-kitchen/

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Here is another creative way that a family can experience Lent together (including fasting, attending services, and giving to those in need). This easily explains and tracks the lenten journey on the family fridge: http://ww1.antiochian.org/content/family-activities-lenten-journey 

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Here is a printable coloring and activity book for the Sundays of Lent and Holy Week: https://www.scribd.com/doc/49025598/Lent-Workbook-English-2

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Love at Lent offers 50 daily task cards that each reinforce the Lenten values of kindness, forgiveness, prayer, generosity, gratitude, and love. Children or families can select one card each day of Great Lent and Holy Week, and then do the task that will help them to better love God and their neighbors. https://store.ancientfaith.com/love-at-lent/ 

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Find 40 activities (one for each day of Great Lent) here: http://ww1.antiochian.org/40-activities-great-lent

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This offers an overview of each Sunday of Lent, complete with the message of the week and suggested activities: https://www.scribd.com/doc/48101187/Lent-HolyWeek-Chart

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Here is an overview of Lenten Sundays and Holy Week, with suggested steps of action, specifically geared for teens: http://www.antiochian.org/content/lenten-message-all-orthodox-teens

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Need more ideas? Check out this blog post filled with additional Lenten resources for families and Church school teachers: https://www.asceticlifeofmotherhood.com/blog/lentguide 

A Glimpse at “Philo, Liv, Loulou, and the Peace SuperHoly” by Mireille Mishriky

Mireille Mishriky offers another gift to Orthodox children in the form of her new book Philo, Liv, Loulou, and the Peace SuperHoly. As in the other Philo books, S. Violette Palumbo’s engaging illustrations add to the story, bringing the children and their circumstances to life. Once again Mishriky’s words and Palumbo’s illustrations collaborate successfully in the book.

In this book, Philo and his cousins Liv and Loulou enjoy a fun time with their grandparents, followed by an adventurous campout in the attic of the girls’ home. Readers of previous books in the “Philo” series will not be surprised when Philo is reminded to activate the SuperHolies, who are available to help him live his Orthodox Christian life to the best of his ability. First-time “Philo” readers will learn that the SuperHolies are virtues, always ready to help Christians do the right thing; and that they are activated by making the sign of the Cross.

In Philo, Liv, Loulou, and the Peace SuperHoly, the three children realize that they need the Peace SuperHoly’s help to face a stressful event. The Peace SuperHoly immediately whispers suggestions into their hearts. As the children act on those peace-giving suggestions, they are able to successfully work together on a big project, unhindered by the unnerving event.

Parents and children alike who read this story will find those practical suggestions for experiencing peace to be helpful in a variety of anxiety-laden situations. This small but mighty book also emphasizes working together, valuing family, and trusting God in all situations. All of this comes neatly wrapped inside a story that even young children will understand.

You can purchase this book here: https://www.amazon.com/Philo-Loulou-Peace-SuperHoly-SuperHolies/dp/1989379184

Kristina Wenger thanks Mireille Mishriky for the complementary ebook copy of this book, given so that this review could be written. Kristina is an educator, podcaster, and co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.

To read Kristina’s reviews of the earlier books in the Philo and the SuperHolies series and to learn about classroom resources that pair well with the stories (including a Vacation Church School program), visit these posts from Orthodox Christian Sunday Church School Teachers:

A Handful of Resources – Summer 2018

Gleanings from a Book: “Philo and the Faithfulness SuperHoly” by Mireille Mishriky, Illustrated by S. Violette Palumbo

A Handful of New Resources

I Spy! Activity Page for “Beautiful Pascha: an Orthodox Coloring Book for Children”, Illustrated by Megan E. Gilbert

Ancient Faith Publishing recently released a beautiful coloring and activity book called Beautiful Pascha: an Orthodox Coloring Book for Children. The pages are full of delightful illustrations, drawn by Megan E. Gilbert, related to the themes of Great Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha. Some pages are intended for coloring, while others are activity pages. Every page helps to point the reader/colorer towards the joy of the resurrection of Christ.

There are many details tucked into the book’s 64 pages. In order to maximize those details, and to add a fun challenge, there is now an I Spy! activity page of 33 things to search for as you read/complete the book. Some listed items are only found at one place in the book, while others are scattered on multiple pages. How many of each can you find? Happy hunting, blessed Lent, and a joyful resurrection to you and your family!

I Spy! activity page for Beautiful Pascha: an Orthodox Coloring Book for Children

Find the book Beautiful Pascha: an Orthodox Coloring Book for Children (including free pages that you can download and use while you wait for it to arrive) here: https://store.ancientfaith.com/beautiful-pascha-an-orthodox-coloring-book-for-children/

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts

On Ideas for Lessons with a Winter Theme

Several years ago, we offered ideas for Sunday Church school lessons with wintery themes. It offers lesson ideas for a variety of ages, and includes activities, crafts, and a handful of related experiments. If you missed it, you may be glad to check out that blog post here: https://orthodoxchurchschoolteachers.wordpress.com/2018/01/12/on-winter-fun-and-learning/

We have found a few additional ideas that we thought perhaps would be of interest to the community, and we will share them here. They could be incorporated into a Sunday Church school lesson, or could be blended into an interesting winter retreat if your Church school has one.

What other winter-themed ideas do you have to share with the community?

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Here are a variety of suggestions of activities that you can do with young children to help them to learn that God has made them unique, like snowflakes: https://www.mrsjonescreationstation.com/god-made-me-unique-like-snowflake/
While it was written for a “mom and me” type group, some of the ideas could be used in a Church school setting.

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Did you know that snow is mentioned at least 25 times in the New King James Version of the Scriptures? Find all 25 here: https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=snow&qs_version=NKJV If you’re going to do a winter-themed lesson, you could begin by sending your Sunday Church school students on a hunt through the Bible, looking up a handful of these verses and trying to find the commonality between them…

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Here is a colorful art idea that uses bleeding tissue paper, watercolor paper, and snow. It could be used in a lesson that includes Isaiah 55:10, ““For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater…” Just like the rain and snow make the earth blossom and seed, this snowy art activity “blooms” on the watercolor paper. https://www.firefliesandmudpies.com/snowy-day-tissue-paper-art/

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These craft and game ideas for a variety of ages of children could be helpful for a winter-themed lesson or retreat: https://childrensministry.com/winter-activities/

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We have referred to this mom’s blog in a previous post, but she has since created additional winter-related, Biblically-themed object lessons, and published them here: https://cherigamble.com/2017/02/19/more-cool-and-easy-bible-object-lessons-experiments-for-cold-winter-days/

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Find winter-themed math, science, sensory, and craft ideas which could be helpful as you plan a winter themed lesson or retreat, here: https://www.parents.com/fun/activities/outdoor/snow-activities-kids/ (Note: these are not religiously-themed, but we thought they looked worthy of consideration for teachers preparing for a wintery lesson.)

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More On House Blessings

Several years ago we wrote a blog containing ideas of ways to help our students learn more about house blessings. If you missed that post, check it out here: https://orthodoxchurchschoolteachers.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/time-for-house-blessings/. The post encourages us to prepare our students for their house blessing, talking them through the experience, and discussing its importance. The post offered multiple resources to help instruct the students about this important event in their home, several related craft ideas, and a link to a printable page that can help the students to prepare for their house blessing.

This year we did a bit more research into teaching about house blessings. We found several ideas that we thought perhaps would be helpful to the community. We are sharing them as an extension to our original post. So you may want to check out the original, then take a look at these additions, in order to maximize your options!

May the Lord bless each of us, and our students, and all of our families as we prepare our hearts and our home for our house blessing!

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This short video by the Orthodox Children’s Press shows young children some of the things needed for a house blessing. It “talks” them through the process, as well. (The words are included in the video, but they are unspoken, so non-readers will need to have the script on the screen read to them as the words are shown.) This video could be a good introduction and/or review for a lesson about house blessings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8sAG4K9wE8

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Teachers of young children may find this information and lesson about Holy Theophany (which talks a bit about house blessings) helpful as they teach the children about this wonderful event. https://orthodoxpebbles.com/new-testament/holy-theophany/

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This site offers lessons geared for children around 6 years old. Lesson 16 of this module helps them to learn about Theophany and lesson 17 about house blessings. The plan is scheduled in the Church school year, long before the actual event in the Church year. Activities include planting their own basil so that the students will have basil leaves for their house blessing. https://www.followers-orthodox.com/3-6-years-infants/age-6-click-to-reveal/term-1-module-1/

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This lesson helps students ages 6-9 learn more about Theophany. It offers a craft idea for holy water that incorporates an icon of the baptism of Christ. http://orthodoxsundayschool.org/epistles-feasts-and-sacraments/6-9-years-old/theophany

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Draw Near Designs offered a simple guide to prepare families for their house blessing, complete with a “map” of where on their prayer table to place each item needed for the blessing. They have also included ways to incorporate children in the preparation for the blessing. It may be helpful to review some of these with the students in your class as they prepare for their house blessing. Check out the post here: https://www.drawneardesigns.com/blog/2019/1/23/house-blessings?

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Print a copy of this prayer from the early Church for each student. Read through it together, and talk about we are asking God to do when we pray these words. Encourage your students to decorate the edges of the prayer, then mount that to colorful cardstock, backed with magnets so that they can put it on their fridge at home. It can be a good prayer to pray as they prepare for their house blessing, but it also is a good one to keep in view throughout the year, between house blessings!

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If your students enjoy drawing, perhaps you will want to invite them to illustrate their own copy of this prayer, in booklet form. Print this page for the text, and then cut each section of the prayer apart, creating 8 pieces (the cover, and seven pages). Fold two sheets of paper in half. Insert one folded page inside the other and staple them together, forming a booklet. Glue each section of the prayer (beginning with the title, on the front cover) into the booklet, in the order that they’re in the prayer. Provide drawing/coloring tools so that your students can illustrate each part of the prayer on its corresponding page. Encourage them to share their finished booklets with each other so that they can see how their classmates illustrated the same words, but likely in a different way. Students can take these booklets home to share with their family and remind them to pray for God’s blessing on their home.

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Pursuing Church School Success: Including Brain Breaks in Lessons

In this series, we will feature resources and ideas that can increase the learning success of a Church school classroom. In each post, we will share some tips for classroom management and/or ideas for increased student participation. What we share is not a comprehensive list by any stretch of the imagination: there are many more ideas available. It is our hope that what we proffer can act as a starting point toward enhancing the learning that takes place in our Church school classroom. 

 

We are all well aware of the importance of maintaining our students’ full attention during class. We also know that they retain and remember information that is learned while their brain is engaged. But it is not easy to maintain an entire class’ full attention at every moment: keeping their complete attention is a struggle. This is why “brain breaks” exist.

“What is a brain break?” you may ask. It is an activity that allows students to physically move and release some of the pent-up energy associated with being still and focused for a long period of time. If you take some time to read about these breaks, you will find that it is really important for us to incorporate them into our lessons. Brain breaks change things up, giving both us and our students a “breather” from concentration, and thereby creating a window for better focus and understanding.

At first glance, brain breaks may look like a waste of important time. But think back to the last time you were working diligently on a project. Did you not, after a period of time, take a quick walk, or grab a mug of coffee, or even just run to the bathroom for a few minutes? When you came back to your project, did you feel refreshed and ready to get back at it? Or was that break a complete waste of time? Of course it wasn’t! (Unless, of course, during the break you also got sucked into Facebook and lost track of time, but that’s a whole other issue, unrelated to the physical break that you took!) We adults often take brain breaks of our own, whether or not we know the terminology.

Brain breaks in a classroom work similarly: they offer a brief period of movement to allow for regrouping and better focus. Brain breaks can be simple actions or more complex games. They can incorporate thinking or simply be a dance-off. Different types of brain breaks reach different types of students, so it is important that we incorporate a variety of them into our teaching.

For our students’ benefit, we should always include some type of brain break(s) into each lesson. They will boost morale, add a touch of fun to our class, and (best of all) open our students’ minds so they can better interact with and remember what we’re studying. And chances are, they’ll help us to learn more, as well!

Here are several links on brain breaks that you may find helpful. Do you regularly use them in your Sunday Church school class? If so, what have you done? Please share your brain break ideas below!

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This article offers links to some of the research that has been done on brain breaks. It strongly states that brain breaks should be considered a class NEED, not an “extra activity”. That is how big an impact physical breaks have on students’ ability to learn! https://www.pinkoatmeal.com/brain-breaks/

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A printable chart such as this one offers brain break ideas that will be performed in a way that is unique to each student. Each would need their own dice to roll five times, and then some space (and freedom) to perform the five actions they’d rolled.

You could create your own chart like this, including your own ideas of things your students can do in the space you have.

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While this is written to a home school audience, there is information here that will be helpful to a Sunday Church school teacher. Especially one with students who are easily distracted: https://adventuresinmommydom.org/tips-on-teaching-highly-distractible-kids/

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“After a successful brain break, your kids should feel more focused, less prone to daydreaming and therefore in a better mental space to work or complete and finish activities. Furthermore, brain breaks have also shown to significantly reduce stress levels in kids, providing organic improvements to learning and higher engagement levels.” Read the rest of the article, as well as the baker’s dozen brain break ideas suggested here: https://www.unicefkidpower.org/brain-breaks-for-kids/

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The indoor and outdoor brain break ideas listed here are written for parents to utilize with their children at home, but many can be helpful to Sunday Church school teachers as well. (We do not condone the yoga idea, but the others are worth considering!) https://www.verywellfamily.com/brain-breaks-for-busy-kids-1257211

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The 20 brain breaks here can offer students of varying ages the opportunity to move and do something completely different for a bit so that they are free to once again focus and learn. https://minds-in-bloom.com/20-three-minute-brain-breaks/

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Here is another collection of 20 brain break ideas for you to consider using in your classroom. Some you can use as they are. Others are aimed at a regular school setting but can be adapted for use in a Sunday Church school class. https://www.boredteachers.com/classroom-management/20-best-brain-break-ideas

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For more creative brain break ideas, check out this blog: http://brainbreaks.blogspot.com/

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Drawing is not necessarily a “brain break”, but it is a physical activity that boosts learning. It is actually a very effective means of learning, because it taps into so many learning styles and requires a variety of thought processes. Check out this 2-minute video explaining the value of incorporating drawing into your lessons: https://www.edutopia.org/video/powerful-effects-drawing-learning

A Gathering of Ideas for Preparing for a New School Year

It is nearly the beginning of a new Sunday Church school year for many of our community who live in the northern hemisphere. We have come across some interesting ideas that we thought could perhaps be helpful to you, and have compiled them to share here. We hope that you will find something useful and helpful for your classroom and for beginning the year with your students.

As you begin a new Church school year, may the Lord bless your transition! May He provide for, guide, and strengthen both you and your students as you learn. May this school year be a year of growth and great learning for everyone!

Here are some of the links that we found. What additional ideas do you have? What have you found helpful at the beginning of a school year? Please share it with the community!

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If your Sunday Church school year does not begin for a few more weeks, there’s still plenty to do to prepare yourself and your classroom for the new Church school year. If you have not yet read Gerry Clonaris’ article “Getting Ready for Your Best Classes Ever”, you’ll want to check out the excerpts we shared here, and then link through to the article itself:

https://orthodoxchurchschoolteachers.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/excerpts-from-getting-ready-for-your-best-classes-ever-an-article-by-gerry-clonaris/

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Planning for a new school year should include making a plan in the event of the unlikely chance that you will not be able to teach some Sunday. If you have not yet prepared a substitute teacher folder for your classroom, we encourage you to do so! It is better for children to have some continuity in their learning experience, and anyone filling in for you at the last minute will be grateful for this detailed description of how your class works, as well as your having planned ahead. Read more about preparing a sub folder here: https://orthodoxchurchschoolteachers.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/on-creating-a-substitute-folder-for-your-sunday-church-school-classroom/

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You’ll find a few simple suggestions of ways to prepare yourself and your classroom for a good Sunday Church school year in this blog: https://www.lifeway.com/kidsministry/2017/08/29/5-tips-to-start-your-teaching-year-off-right/

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There are a host of ideas for beginning the school year here, which could be easily adapted for use in a Sunday Church school classroom. Older students will enjoy these getting-to-know-you activities, and you as a teacher will find some helpful ideas of ways to help communicate your expectations of the class. http://www.teachingwithamountainview.com/2014/07/first-day-of-school-activities-for-big.html?m=1

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The two fun “getting to know you” activities in this post will help your students get to know each other better, while also helping you to learn more about each of them: http://www.kristendembroski.com/?p=286

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If you’re really interested in learning to know your students, consider inviting them to write you a letter titled “I wish my teacher knew…” They’ll include three things they’d like you to know about them, and you’ll read the letter privately, not share it with the class. Knowing three things you wouldn’t otherwise know about your students, right from the start of the Sunday Church school year, will help you know how to pray for them and how to best plan lessons that they will enjoy and understand. http://suburbansnowwhite.com/i-wish-my-teacher-knew/

On Using Games for Summer Fun With Your Students

It is summertime in the northern hemisphere, and many of our Sunday Church schools are taking a break from meeting for classes. If your parish is continuing on with Church school without taking a break, this blog post is for you, as you may find some game(s) here that can be incorporated into a class! If your parish does not have Church school over the summer, but you would like to re-connect with your students (and/or meet upcoming students), perhaps you could use some of these game ideas to create a fun night (or fun Sunday afternoon) for them. If your parish does not have Church school over summer, and you do not plan to host such an event, tuck some of these game ideas into your back pocket for use during the Sunday Church school year.

We have gathered a handful of links to game ideas for a variety of ages and class sizes. Some of these games are just for fun; others can be used in the learning process; and still others could help build community in your classroom. You know your students and what will or will not work in your setting. Glean whatever you deem useful and don’t bother with the rest!

May God bless your summer!

 

Here are the ideas that we have gathered. What game ideas do you have to share with the community? Please share them in a comment!

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Find the rules to eight outdoor games that do not require any sort of prop (no ball or anything) here: https://ladyandtheblog.com/15-games-play-city-cement-games-child-love/

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Here is a collection of indoor games and activities that could be used (or adapted for use) in a Church school class: https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/fun-indoor-games-for-kids/

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Here are a handful of group games for outdoor play: https://christiancamppro.com/include-everyone-with-these-5-large-group-games/

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Here’s a collection of rules for more than 60 group games. http://www.group-games.com/index-of-all-group-games

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These ideas require cooperation, so they are fun team building activities for people of all ages: https://spongekids.com/team-building-activities-for-adults-and-kids/

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There are so many fun activities and games here, and they all encourage cooperation between participants! These would work with children, adults, or a mixed group. https://www.momjunction.com/articles/team-building-activities-will-keep-kids-busy-summer_0074763/

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The team-building ideas here are fun and involve the entire group: https://literacyandlattes.com/2016/08/17/team-builders-for-the-classroom/

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Here are 26 fun team-builders for kids: https://www.weareteachers.com/team-building-games-and-activities/

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Each of these games requires at least one beach ball: https://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com/beach-ball-games.html

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On Finishing Strong: Ideas for the End of the Church School Year

Some members of our community will soon be finishing their Church School year, to take a break for the summer. Others of us will continue to meet with our students, but will finish in just a few months. Regardless of how soon our year ends, it is wise for us to finish well in order to better send our Church School students off to their next class.

Here are a few ideas of ways to do so:

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Take a class at the end of the year to review what you have studied throughout the year. We amassed a collection of fun review games and ideas here: https://orthodoxchurchschoolteachers.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/ideas-for-year-end-review/

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To encourage your students to express their appreciation for each other, you may wish to incorporate “Goodbye Stars” like these, where each student writes a little note of appreciation on their classmate’s star. (Or, perhaps you’d prefer to use a paper icon, and have them write the notes on the back of the icon or on a card to which it is attached.) https://proudtobeprimary.com/end-of-the-year-goodbye-stars/

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Will you hand out awards at the end of Sunday Church School this year? If so, consider awards like these that focus on the virtues. https://orthodoxchurchschoolteachers.wordpress.com/2017/05/26/on-virtuous-year-end-awards/

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If you are considering offering awards to your students, perhaps you will be inspired by some of these (free!) ideas: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-of-Year-Awards-Freebie-Christian-Character-Awards-3825690

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If you plan to give your students a parting gift, perhaps these clever tags will inspire you to create something similar of your own. https://lessons4littleones.com/2016/04/13/end-of-the-year-student-gifts-gift-tags/

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Here’s another idea for a parting gift. This one offers a variety of “life lessons” symbolized by things kids can use. http://lessonswithlaughter.com/end-of-year-gifts-updated/

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Once the year is finished, be sure to review the year and make notes for yourself for future years. Need some ideas of what to think about? Check out these: https://orthodoxchurchschoolteachers.wordpress.com/2017/06/02/on-evaluating-the-sunday-church-school-year/

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If your Sunday Church School class does not meet over summer,  you may wish to maintain the relationship you’ve built with each student in some special way. Here are some suggested ideas of how to do so: https://orthodoxchurchschoolteachers.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/on-supporting-your-students-throughout-the-summer/

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