We had a blast helping with VBS this year, which had the theme "Digging Deep into God's Word." After much deliberation, we chose Esther as our favorite Bible character and had a wonderful time preparing for the activities. Despite God's name not being explicitly mentioned in the book of Esther, we see the story of Esther unfold and witness the power of God over the plans of men.  We started by letting each child decorate their crown to wear during the storytelling. We gathered around a banquet table and enjoyed a feast of grapes, crackers, and cheese at the appropriate point in the narrative. Towards the end, each child received a signet ring like the King's, along with a piece of clay to make their own seals, just as the King issued a new decree. We also used

Betty Luken's felt figures

This super easy fruit salad is the perfect complement to any main course, adding a burst of color and freshness. It's a versatile dish that pairs well with ham, chicken salad sandwiches, or any potluck lunch.. Here's the recipe:

As avid planners, we rely on a lesson plan template for a concise overview of our weekly Bible class content. This template is a valuable tool, reminding us of necessary preparations and accommodating new visuals, ideas, or activities as we adapt our lessons throughout the year.  Feel free to download and utilize our blank Bible Class Planner Template (.pdf) to enhance your Bible class preparations.

Back-to-school season is here, and that means busy mornings! My dad always made sure we had a hot breakfast before heading out, so I'm carrying on that tradition. One of my kids' favorites is sausage balls - they're quick, easy, and perfect for hectic mornings. I like to prepare several batches in advance and freeze them in individual servings for a grab-and-go breakfast option. Here's the recipe:

After a discussion with friends, I began seeking deeper personal and spiritual growth. I searched for a Bible study curriculum designed for women. Feeling overwhelmed by the options, I found guidance and inspiration through

Cindy Colley's website

Digging Deep Bible Series.

2011 year-long study

1 Thess. 5:11

I'm excited to share my first attempt at creating fun and interactive visuals for our Bible class. This bulletin board game will be used during our study of the kings during the United Kingdom, (Saul, David, and Solomon). I enlarged the patterns and used chalk pastels to add vibrant colors before laminating them for durability. We also crafted crowns featuring questions about these three kings. The inspiration and patterns came from

Ideashop

We discovered a fantastic timeline resource in our church's resource room and decided to adapt it for individual student use and reference. Melissa suggested shrinking the timeline and printing it on cardstock, a brilliant idea that allows each student to have an up-close timeline at their desk.  While it was somewhat time-consuming to prepare, the end result was worth it! We used clear contact paper to attach and protect the timelines on the desks. Though it was challenging to capture a photo without glare, we hope you can appreciate the outcome of our efforts. This individualized approach enhances each student's learning experience and provides a valuable reference tool throughout our Bible lessons.

To track memory work progress, we created simple graphs printed on vibrant Astrobrite paper. At the start of each quarter, children personalize their charts with their name and chosen color. Every Sunday, they earn a sticker for reciting or arranging the memory verse on our

memory work board

We've just started assembling our classroom timeline, and it's already looking exciting! We'll continue adding events as we journey through the Old Testament.  We're also excited to incorporate maps into our lessons, despite our geographical challenges. These visual aids, from

Bible Study Guide

Looking for a fun way to keep your students engaged while reinforcing Bible knowledge? Try a game! It's a great way to have fun while learning. We used pre-cut shapes from an educational store and added review questions and answers on the back. This versatile game can be played individually or in teams.  To make it interactive, we attached magnetic tape to each question, allowing them to be easily displayed on a magnetic board for a "pumpkin patch review” something we do every fall! You can add some variety and put a crow on the back of a few random pumpkins and if they receive a crow they lose their turn.

We won this adorable Joseph review game as a door prize at a workshop in July. It's made with cardstock and patterned scrapbook paper! Children match the colorful "coats" to the answers on each figure. We're thrilled to add this creative game to our classroom resources.

To encourage our students to independently verify their answers, we've implemented a simple system. Each worksheet has two stickers on the back: one for teacher inventory (topic/number) and another labeled "Answer Key #___."  A duplicate worksheet with the same labels is placed in a protective sleeve within an ANSWER KEY notebook, arranged numerically. This streamlined approach allows students to easily locate the corresponding answer key. As we expand our collection of worksheets, this system remains adaptable and efficient.

At a recent workshop, we discovered a fantastic pre-class activity idea. We enlarged various activity sheets onto 11x17 colored tagboard, laminated them for durability, and now use them as engaging review exercises for previous Bible stories. This keeps students occupied while teachers interact with children or welcome visitors before class begins. To make the worksheets reusable, we use vis-à-vis pens and wipe them clean with a damp cloth. Our 3rd graders love this activity! We'll share our answer key setup in a future post. Be on the lookout for that!

We are developing a game for our Gideon lesson, inspired by the book "Interactive Bible Story Bulletin Boards." We have enlarged the pattern and the characters are ready for coloring! The game pieces, featuring review questions about Gideon's story, are already completed.  We will use this game alongside our existing "Judges" interactive bulletin board, attaching magnets to the pieces for use on the magnetic board.  Watch for upcoming posts to see this game in action.

Nancy, our resource room coordinator, has a wealth of visuals that she and her friends have created. This project for our Gideon lesson was incredibly easy to assemble because the coloring was already done. We simply printed the colored photos and mounted them onto gray cardstock. Once laminated, we intend to add magnets to the back of each piece, allowing us to build a large shield on the magnetic dry-erase board as we learn the story of Gideon.

This colorful display is the first thing children will see as they enter our classroom for the initial Sunday of our Judges unit. As we delve into the stories of each judge, we will unveil their identities by removing the gavel cover-ups, adding an element of excitement and anticipation to our learning journey!

This visual aid was created to illustrate the cyclical and repetitive pattern of how the Israelites abandoned God and how God punished them. The Israelites would cry out for help and God would raise up a judge. The Israelites would repent and fall back into sin with the cycle repeating. This was completed during a collaborative effort during a teacher’s church worknight. The judge graphic (source unknown), was enlarged on poster board and enhanced with chalk, visually representing the various “judges” on the “cycle”. The accompanying text, was mounted on patterned scrapbook paper, provides additional information about the Israelites. This visual tool hangs on our wall during the study of the book of Judges.

To help our students memorize scripture, we created a visual aid using a simple open-book pattern. We enlarged the pattern onto the poster board, added chalk for a 3D effect, and laminated it for durability. We added magnets on the back allowing it to be displayed year-round.  Students can interact with the book during pre-class activities, arranging the memory verse in order or reciting it aloud. This engaging tool reinforces learning and makes Scripture memorization enjoyable.