|
Mini-Jigzone |
Every year Mitch and I are invited to bring the children's programme at the Away-Day of Brixham URC (United Reformed Church). Quite often, I choose to do a 'trial run' or a 'mini' of the upcoming Holiday Bible Club.
JIGZONE was coming, so I condensed its programme a bit and focused on that main theme - our lives are like jigsaws, with many pieces, and when God is at the centre of the puzzle, none of the pieces are missing and they all then fit together beautifully.
We met again at the picturesque Buckfast Abbey.
Session One
PAIRS GAME - Every child was given a jigsaw piece, with its match being given to another child. The children then had a few minutes to find their match. This led into the introduction that God can be found when we seek him with all our heart.
PUZZLE TIME - We spent some good time working together doing jigsaw puzzles. This gave us time to work on the floor with the children, talk to them, and get to know them, plus giving them a visual aid to the days theme. Many puzzles were purposely brought without a piece!
Session Two
THE STORY - After hearing so much about the pieces in the first session, it was time to tell them a story about a man whose life was missing the most important piece....one of the saddest stories in the Bible, because it doesn't seem to have a happy ending. He was called the Rich Young Ruler. Heather and Mitch were the 'mimers' as I read the story. Click here to see a copy of the drama, which may be printed if you would like to use it, too.
PUZZLE QUIZ - The children then were given a hat full of questions relating to the story, and if able to answer their question, they could put a piece of the puzzle on the board. All the pieces, once fit together, made a picture of the Rich Young Ruler walking sadly away from Jesus. But we left out the puzzle piece which had Jesus' head, to show the children what was missing from this man's life. It was quite effective.
Session Three
THE DANCE - After lunch and a short afternoon break, we came back together to watch the older girls do a dance for us to a pop song called 'Money'. (They worked on it during break, and did a great job putting it together so quickly!) We talked alot during the day about money, stuff, toys, and riches and how we sometimes let them take the place that was meant for God.
BADGES - The children painted puzzle pieces and creatively turned them into all kinds of animals, creatures, and 'people' by gluing on sequins and googly eyes.
PASS THE PARCEL - This is a fun party game in which you wrap layers and layers of paper around a small gift tucked away in the center. Pass the parcel around the group of children, play the music, and when the music stops, the child holding the parcel opens the next layer, and the game continues. OURS was a 'Pass the Parcel' with a twist. Within each layer was a puzzle piece with one part of our life written on it, i.e. school, riding bike, chocolate cake. The center layer was the most important. It held the God-piece (attached to a bag of sweets,of course) because God SHOULD be at the center of our lives and when He is, we will want to share Him with others (like we did the sweets!).
VERSE - We ended the day by repeating Jeremiah 29.13 - "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."
|
It was a great day! |