Enjoy the February 2012 edition of Tower Power, the Children's Newsletter of High Street United Methodist Church February 2012

Simple Ways to Teach Kids Scripture.

I discovered these suggestion in this article. I'm always looking for new strategies to teach Scripture to kids! 

1.  Bible Ball – You can use this game to learn the books of the Bible, Kings of Israel, etc.  Have your kids sit in a circle with you. One person starts with the ball.  If you were doing the books of the Bible they would say, “Genesis”, and then pass it to whoever they wanted to, and that person would have to say “Exodus”, and they would pass it and so on.

2.  Scripture Scavenger Hunt –  Take notecards, write a different scripture reference on each one and hide them in strategic places.  The children go searching together, and take turns finding a card.  When they find a card they get one point for finding it, and two points if they can recite the scripture that is written on the card.  At the end each child’s points are tallied, and we usually give everyone a sweet treat as a prize  .

3.  Sundae Sunday and The Story of God -Make a tradition on Sundays called Sundae Sunday!  Before bedtime we gather together as a family and sing worship songs, and read through a lesson of The Story of God.  You can download it here.  We then pray together and have Ice Cream Sundaes!!

4.  Nightly Devotional Time -  Two great books we have found to read with small children are Goodnight Warrior and Jesus Storybook Bible.  With our oldest son, we just had him start reading through the Bible when he was 8. A really great family devotional is 24 Family Ways by Clay Clarkson.

 

 

Kids and Swearing

 The ABC show Modern Family made news on January 18 because of some dirty language.  It was necessarily the word that made headlines, but the fact that the show producers had the word coming from the mouth of Lily, a 2 year- old girl.  The storyline centers around Lily's parents, Cam and Mitchell, who are trying to clean up their daughter's language before she appears as a flower girl at an upcoming wedding. (The obscenity was bleeped.)  To some the story line feels in appropriate and in poor taste yet some parents say the episode hits close to home.   

This article from Yahoo News suggests that are brains are hard wired for swearing.  They report that "studies suggest that swearing is firmly embedded in the brain. Swearing is a form of 'formulaic language,, said Diana Van Lancker Sidtis, a professor of communicative sciences and disorders at New York University. These are expressions such as "You bet!" that frequently appear in conversation, and kids learn them as they're learning how to piece together sentences.  Not only does swearing start early, it's hard to dislodge. Stroke victims and people with brain injuries often remember how to swear even when other words elude them, according to a 1999 review by Van Lancker Sidtis in the journal Brain Research Reviews."

Yet Scripture speaks often of controlling our speech to reflect the love of God that is within us to be shared with those around us.  Remember verses such as "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14) or "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29).  If we are growing in grace, we are striving to reflect more of Christ in our speech acts as well as our physical actions.  But is our search for holy speech a losing battle against the natural tendency of our brains?  Or can the working of the Holy Spirit rewire us for more healthy conversation?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.  What isnyour opinion on swearing?  What donyou teach your children about appropriate speech?

Kids hold keys to caring

I love a story of kids making a difference.  Here is a great article about children making painted keys to help crisis ministry.

Physically Active Kids Appear To Do Better In Class

I know it's tough during these winter months, but find opportunities for your kids to exercise and work their bodies.  According to this article, the more your children make time for physical activity, the better they will do in school.  

New Year's resolutions 2012

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

This verse is confirmation for us that God does dream new possibilities for us in the coming year.  Read on if you are questioning whether you should make family resolutions this year.  

So, what are some of your New Year’s resolutions? 

If you haven’t made any yet, will you?

Teaching about Patience

An interesting study at Stanford University shows that how we teach our children about patience can have a lasting impact.  Check it out here.

Positively Kids Releases Contagious Sharing Our Smiles Video

Positively Kids Releases Contagious Sharing Our Smiles Video

This article reminds of the contagious power of the smile.