my newest challenge

this quarter, i was given a new challenge at church: teaching sabbath school for kids ages four to six. i did teach Vacation Bible School Kindergarten for two consecutive years, but this new teaching stint is different because of at least three things:

(a) all the kids have prior sabbath school kindergarten experience; i don't.
(b) they have preference for the routine and songs from their previous teacher (which they've had from the day we put up sabbath school kindergarten); and
(c) 90% of the kids will have their parents in the classroom with them

these past two weeks, i spent a substantial amount of time just preparing lesson plans, learning songs, printing and cutting out materials, organizing visual aides, purchasing supplies, and basically just being nervous.

i'm not sure how many quarters i'll be teaching this class. this sabbath will be my third out of the 13 sabbaths in a quarter. so far, i have been able to keep the kids satisfied, but not ooh-ahhh-clap excited. the parents have been helpful, too - singing along when teacher doesn't know the song the kids want to sing and etc.

i have also managed to forget and completely skip major parts of the routine. boo!

so this week, i'm doing more prep work: researching on teaching strategies, organizing my materials better, and studying the lesson harder. i'm also going over their songs and fingerplays and thinking up ways to make our classroom more interesting for them.

my students, designing clothes (like Hannah for Samuel) in our makeshift classroom

in doing all this, i find many helpful places in the internet, such as

http://www.gracelink.net/article/3/kindergarten for lesson helps
http://www.kindergarten-lessons.com/kindergarten-teaching.html and http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/Play/Ktodayplay.pdf for teaching strategies
http://www.youtube.com/user/maranathakids/videos for children's music
http://www.mrprintables.com/ and http://www.activityvillage.co.uk for free printables

but my greatest help, as always, comes from the greatest Teacher. 

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  James 1:5

“For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12:12 (NKJV)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  1 Corinthians 15:58

so bring it on!

Photo Challenge Week 1: Cycles

time's almost up but i still can't choose a decent photo to submit to the photo challenge. theme is 'cycles'. here's a selection:

oh well, there's always this anyway:

thanks for the support, cousins!

thank you Lord for the mangoes

lately, i've been feasting on the luscious mango produce of the tree we have at church. it seems i've been having mango for breakfast, lunch and supper for the past two weeks.

just this afternoon we collected over 70 mangoes. two of our brethren climbed up the tree and shook the branches while my friend jade and I collected every fruit that fell to the ground. such happy times made only happier by the wonderful feast afterward.

these past few breakfasts have made me realize that mangoes are my favorite fruit.

thank you so much, Lord for the treat you threw in with the church property. You really are the best.

to brethren who are reading this, don't worry, we left you some.

Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.  

Leviticus 25:18, 19

Photo Challenge

I recently invited a friend to join an online photo challenge with me. We're both beginners at photography (he claims to be a beginner, i'm not really sure) who both can't seem to get ourselves to give our cameras value equal to their prices. So maybe joining a photo challenge will compel us to take the camera out of the bag a little more frequently - at least once each week since it's a weekly challenge.

Every week, a new theme is announced and participants submit photos according to the theme. The participating photos are posted on the site for other people to view and comment on. So there's also the pressure for me to do better than the candid shots of friends.

This week's challenge is themed CYCLES, in honor of the ongoing Tour de France. It'll be my first entry so there's a bit of pressure. Photos don't really have to be about bicycles, just anything that comes to mind at the word cycles, but i've never really tried themed shots before, sooo....

Ideas, anyone?

winter's end, the beginning of spring

For winter's rains and ruins are over, 

And all the season of snows and sins; 

The days dividing lover and lover, 

The light that loses, the night that wins; 

And time remembered is grief forgotten, 

And frosts are slain and flowers begotten, 

And in green underwood and cover 

Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

-Algernon Charles Swinburne-

How to Be Happy

The lives of some are without peace or gladness because they never get out of the range of self. VSS 137

Forgiveness

How can you seek mercy from One who is above you if you can't show mercy to one who is below you?

The story of the unforgiving servant comes to mind. Perhaps someone has owed us that way - hurt us, used us, treated us wrong, lied to us, betrayed us, cheated us out of something. Perhaps it's the boyfriend who had another girl, or the father who abandoned you, or the jeep driver who insisted on one more passenger, or the teacher who hated your guts, or the stranger who carelessly stepped on your toe. Have you forgiven him?

If not, then how can you ask God to forgive you in the name of Jesus Christ who died for your sins? When you really think about it, Jesus didn't really have to die for you and me. They could have gone on and created another pair of humans.

But He did die a humiliating death for us. He walked the earth, taught us to make the most of this life, and gave us the way to the better life. Jesus loves us. He loves me, He loves you, and He loves the "moron" who stepped on your toe.

So now you think how you've failed Jesus time and again, and how each time,  He opens His arms to you. Think of all the wrong you've done in your life and multiply that by the number of people on this earth. His love covered all of those. How much has your love covered so far?

Maybe you've forgiven but haven't really forgotten, all the while not knowing that forgiving IS forgetting.

So free up some space on your memory, and make room for more of Jesus in your heart.

 Forgive.

Adventist Youth Program Ideas

Idea # 3

Music is a huge part of any worship service. It is a gift that God wants us to use and enjoy to His glory. These days, the gray area between good church music and otherwise has widened along with the musical generation gap. It probably also happens in your church: the older members complaining that church music now just isn't as good as in the old days. But God has bestowed musical talents just as wisely on this generation as in previous ones. So this is what today's AY program idea is about: bridging the musical generation gap.

MUSIC: OLD AND YOUNG

Materials: writing board and chalk or papers and pens (for copying song lyrics)

Mechanics: Group the congregation into two or more (depending on the size of the congregation). Make sure that each group has enough young members as well as older ones. Instruct the older members of the group to teach their younger members a song from the old days - one that the youth are not familiar with. Also, ask the youth to teach their older members a song that is from their generation. Allow practice time. Now, each group will be given time to perform both songs - the older ones singing the new song, and the younger ones singing the old song.

Now you have young people learning and singing old songs and older people learning and actually singing new songs! This may just start everyone on a road to appreciating music from different generations. Plus, you   just gave them an avenue to interact and work with each other toward a common goal.

At my church, everyone enjoyed the activity, especially the older ones as they sang their newly-learned song while their young teachers looked proudly on.

The important thing to emphasize here is that the sacredness of the musical gift cuts across generations. God designed for music to be as much a part of worship as is prayer. In the words of the Apostle Paul:

I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. 1 Corinthians 14:15

What do you do to bring out the good music at your church?


Check out other AY Program Ideas in this blog by clicking here.