Ice Animals

I purchased several frogs/izards (6 for a buck) and Farm Animals (12 for a buck) from the dollar binds at Target.

I plan to freeze these animals in water and have the children chip them out using golf tees and plastic hammers. I will probably have the ice in the watertable so it will be contained as it melts. (Yes, I own two watertables so I can have more than one activity.)

The children may rescue one animal to take home with them.

I have done this activity at home and playgroup before. It is always popular.

Parachute Person

I really want to try THIS. I don't actually think it is going to work or be practical for 100 kids to make. But it reminds me of my brother throwing my Barbies dressed in formal wear over the banister.

I will let you know when I try it to see if it works for me.

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UPDATE:



I made this last night with a five-year-old friend. It was cute and easy. He LOVED IT!

I think I might draw a parachuting bunny for the season and try it copied onto cardstock so we don't have to worry about gluing the two sides together.

We taped a penny on the parachute person's backpack to make him fly better. Still this is the cheapest project and it was fun to throw down the stairs, off the top bunk, and off the play structure in the backyard.

Homemade Stickers

Here is a recipe and short tutorial for homemade stickers.

I did try this recipe last year. The stickers seemed a little strong. And I used printed clipart images which bled.

I need to find magazines to try this with again. I love this tutorial. I think the kids would really like these funky stickers.

Painted Rocks

I think painting rocks like Easter eggs with acrylic paint would be fun.

I am worried about drying time and where to find 100 to 150 rocks all egg sized.

Any suggestions would be great!

I saw this idea HERE.

I also love the idea of heating the rock and letting the crayon melt on it! Seen HERE and HERE.

UPDATE:


These turned out great! One of my friends suggested putting them in the crockpot with water on low. It made them warm but not too hot to touch. We simply took them out with tongs and dried them on a towel before drawing on them with crayons. This is possible to do with 100+ kids.

Coloring Book

This is the coloring book I drew to go with our lesson. If you would like the printable document, please email me at nicolereimer@gmail.com. I would be happy to share it with you.

God's Gift to YOU


God Created Everything



Man chooses not to listen.
Not Listening is a sin.


God has a great love for man.


Sin separates God from man.


God acts to allow man to change.


Jesus came from God to wash our hearts clean.


Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.

Jesus Cleans Your Heart

THE LESSON

This lesson was the stepping stone to our lesson.

This is why we hold an Easter Event. We want to tell children Jesus loves them and He is the way to heaven!


Introduction


"Hello, welcome to our Easter party. We're so glad you came because we're going to talk about how much God loves you. We have a fun story in there and we need to get ready for it. Do you know that God created you? ("yes") And when He made you, He gave you a heart, kind of like this one only we can't see them, can we? (give hearts. Make sure the iodine has just been placed on the heart. If the iodine sits on the white felt heart for too long it is difficult to get out.) What are our hearts for? ("love") That's right, love. God gave us a heart so we could love Him and love people. Can you go show your heart to Ms. --- and Ms. ---?"

Dirty Heart


What do you have there? ("a heart") Do you know who gave you your heart? ("God") That's right. Did you know that God has a big, beautiful heart? (shows heart) His heart is perfectly clean because God is always good. But our hearts look different. Ever since we were babies we haven't always made good choices. Do you always do what's good? ("no") Do we always make the right choice? ("no") Sometimes we might fight with our siblings or our friends. Sometimes we don't listen very well to our moms or teachers sometimes. ("yeah") Those bad choices are called sins and sins make our hearts unclean. Our hearts aren't pure and beautiful like God's heart. (put drops of iodine on hearts during discussion) After we make a bad choice, can we take it away? ("no") Can we rub that yucky stuff off of our heart? (try rubbing - "no") Looks like we have a problem. Head over to Ms. --- and Ms. --- to hear what you can do about your problem.


At the Cross


Hi guys, what do you have there? ("hearts with yucky stuff") So you and I have hearts that aren't clean like God's heart. Those bad choices make our hearts unclean and keep us from God. But God created us and He loves us very much. So He sent Jesus to earth as a baby at Christmas. Have you seen a Nativity scene like this before? (show scene to them) Christmas is when we celebrate how God sent Jesus to us as a baby. Then Jesus grew up and taught people all about God AND Jesus never made a bad choice. At just the right time Jesus died on a cross because of our sins so that our hearts can be washed clean from our bad choices. Should we take your hearts to the cross and try washing all that yucky stuff off? (wash the hearts using tongue depressors, careful of clothes!) All of our bad choices, our sin in our hearts, can be forgiven by Jesus if we believe in Jesus and ask Him to forgive us. That is why we celebrate Easter - we can have our hearts washed clean by Jesus! You can take your heart over to Ms. --- and Ms. ---.


Eggs & Review


How did your heart get washed clean? ("I washed it at the cross") Do you remember who died on the cross to wash your heart clean? Jesus died on the cross so that your heart could be washed clean if you believe in Him and ask Him to forgive you. (kids leave hearts and you give them a coloring book) Here's a coloring book to remind you of the story of Easter and here's something for your parent to read about Easter, too (a track). Here are your eggs (10 of them) and they have lots of fun stuff for you to do in the next room (activities). Have fun!

Welcome, Muffins & a Short Wait

Families arrive to the outreach and our greeted by a volunteer (preferably the pastor). They sign-in with their children's names and ages. We use this information to mail them about other church events. They also mark how they heard about the event: school, a friend, church, newspaper, or other. This helps us know where they came from and how to best advertise.

Parents can have a homemade muffin and then proceed to the lesson room. (Muffins are donations made by moms and other women who can not volunteer the day of the event. We have several moms with multiple young children so this is a great way for them to contribute to the event.)



Waiting

So we haven't got it just right yet. Many people associate Easter events with egg hunts. For an egg hunt you have to be there exactly at the start of the event or your child doesn't get any eggs. Sometimes our families have to wait in line a little while (at most 10 minutes) before they go into the lesson room. Any suggestions on how to get people to come at different times would be great!



We have out tents and tunnels to keep the children occupied.

This year I drew a coloring page of this cartoon from After Eden.


My drawing:



The kids always seem to have fun!
This made ALL our volunteers laugh this year.