KidMin Programming Archives - Page 4 of 16

My 6 Favorite Pinterest-Inspired Valentine’s Crafts for Kids

02/03/201502/03/2015 Kathie Phillips

Valentine’s Day crafts are some of the cutest crafts that children will ever make! Here are 6 of my favorite Pinterest-inspired Valentine’s Day crafts for kids of all ages:

For Babies & Toddlers

From The Educators’ Spin On It

Have fun with your babies & toddlers this Valentine’s Day! This site has some great, hands-on ideas using items that you likely already have on hand. My favorites are:

Heart Cookie Cutters
Felt Hearts
Heart Scribbles Art
Heart Prints

From Second Grade Sparkle

I absolutely adore this heart mosaic craft. I hope to have our younger elementary children do this activity. You can adapt it for preschoolers by tracing a heart shape from contact paper and have preschoolers add pieces of tissue paper to make a stain-glass mosaic.

From Bible Wise

Preschoolers will love this simple heart mobile. And it’s easy prep for you – you’ll need scissors, crayons, hole punch and yarn.

From Preschool Crafts for Kids

Another craft your preschoolers and 1st graders will love. And the supply list is quite short.

Valentine Crafts - Heart Necklace — Heart Necklace

From Kinderart.com

Another heart mosaic craft but this is geared more toward elementary children and preteens because it provides a challenge for them. I think even boys might like the challenge.

From Smart Savvy Living

Who doesn’t love the classic coupon book? What a great way for kids to show their loved ones how much they care.

You can also find inexpensive, prepackaged craft options from Oriental Trading and Guildcraft.

For more fun ideas, be sure to check out my Valentine’s Pinterest Board!

What Valentine’s Day Crafts do you have planned for this year?

6 Deliciously Easy Valentine’s Day Snack Ideas for Kids

02/02/201502/02/2015 Kathie Phillips

As a girl, I enjoyed Valentine’s Day in our house. My mom always made it special with decorations, candy, cards and a red & white dinner (i.e. spaghetti, lasagna, etc.). I have tried to make new traditions with my family for Valentine’s Day and one thing we all enjoy are sweet treats.

If you’re looking for sweet treats for your own children or children at your church, check out six (6) of my favorites, courtesy of Pinterest.

From Pillsbury.com

Kids can stick wooden sticks into fresh-from-the-oven sugar cookies and then decorate the cookies with icing and all kinds of fun sprinkles and candies. Great for preschoolers & school-age children.

From Hatter and Hare Events

This snack features fruit, but you can use that heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut many foods – apples, pineapple, mango, kiwi, bananas, strawberries, cheese, bread, brownies, cookies. Great for toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children.

From Pampered Chef

Great for preschoolers and school-age children

From Baby Steps 365

Great for toddlers & preschoolers

Some other personal favorites of mine are:

Jello Jigglers (strawberry, cherry, or raspberry-flavored)
Cupcakes (can have kids decorate with icing and toppings such as candies, sprinkles)

For more fun ideas, be sure to check out my Valentine’s Pinterest Board!

What are your favorite Valentine’s Day sweet treats?

Six Ways to Reconnect in the New Year

01/12/201501/12/2015 Kathie Phillips

Children (and leaders!) at your church are settling back into a routine now that the new year is underway. As a kidmin leader or volunteer, you know the importance of bridging the gap and helping kids reconnect with you and each other. That’s why my friends at Orange invited me to share helpful tips to do just that. Please check out my guest post on their Lead Small website here.

Keep the conversation going by leaving me a comment below! How do you help kids in your ministry reconnect after the holidays?

{Book Review} “Children’s Games From Around the World”

01/07/201501/07/2015 Kathie Phillips

One of the things that makes our Children’s Ministry unique is that we offer a missions-emphasis program for our preschoolers, elementary-age children and preteens. Second Sunday for the World, offered on the second Sunday of each month October – June, exposes children to other cultures, introduces them to church-supported missionaries, and allows them to pray for people around the world. They learn to have God’s heart for the world by serving others locally and globally.

I always keep an eye out for missions resources for children. Many of my ideas come from Pinterest. (You can check out my KidMin Missions board here.)

My friend Steven Knight has compiled a new resource that I was thrilled to take a look at. Children’s Games from Around the World provides 23 fun games from 22 different countries. These games are great complements to Sunday lessons, VBS, and missions programs.

About the book:

-eBook

-45 pages

-includes interesting facts about each country

Official Website: http://www.kidmintools.com/2015/01/05/childrens-games-from-around-the-world-book/

What I Liked:

I love that many of the games are active – they get the children up and moving. This is especially important to our ministry because we have an abundance of boys who like to throw balls (and each other occasionally!), run and jump. I also love that the countries are listed alphabetically in the table of contents, making finding a game for a particular place fairly easy.

Each game’s directions are clearly laid out, so it’s easy to follow, even spur-of-the moment if needed. I was also grateful to see that several interesting facts follow each country’s game. The games can be fun & informative!

What I Think Was Missing:

It would have been great if each country could have been identified by its flag or location on a map (again, educating the children). Some had identification; some did not. It also would’ve been helpful if each game was categorized as “high energy” or “low energy”. That information is useful to me when selecting a game. Lastly, a list of needed supplies would make selecting and prepping for a game super easy. This is also something that I take into consideration when selecting a game.

My Recommendation:

This resource is a good one to have in your arsenal. If you’re like me, you’ll refer to it regularly. For a limited time, Steven is offering this downloadable eBook free of charge to everyone who subscribes to his blog, KidMin Tools. I encourage you to check it out!