Cathy and I continue to look through Rotation.org's deep archive of great ideas and bring you our favorites. Click the "bell" icon above in the title to get notifications of new treasures in this topic! Our treasures are also included in the Rotation.org Enews.
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Some Cool Treasures for a Hot Summertime!
Summer might be the perfect time to freshen up—or even redo—some of your workshop or classroom spaces. We have an entire forum full of pictures of creative "workshop" spaces waiting to inspire you! It might be something as simple as creating new signage for your space. Or it might be a complete renovation, like these pictures from Zion Baptist in Alberta, Canada. We would love to see some pictures from YOUR spaces!
What stories do you teach during the summer?
A few years ago, we did a survey to see what stories were frequently taught over the summer, when attendance often fluctuates. Here are some of the more popular choices, in case you are still looking for ideas for your summer curriculum:
- Psalm 100 - Joyful Noise
- Armor of God
- The Fiery Furnace
- Stories about Elijah and Elisha
- Joshua and the Spies
You can find lessons for these stories Rotation.org's SEARCH PAGE (or the magnifying glass icon on our blue toolbar at the top of the page).
This lesson set from First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI has the kids learning the psalm by running a relay race with remote control cars. Sounds like a joyful noise!
You could even make "assorted Psalm lessons" the focus of your whole summer with these Writing Team lesson sets (available to our Supporting Members) on Psalm 8 and Psalm 23.
I love the idea of using “hands in” Mystery Boxes to explore Psalm 23. Students insert their hand into the box, feel what is inside, and try to figure out which verse is represented by what is in the box. And a bonus benefit is that these boxes can be reused for other stories!
Van Gogh’s famous painting of “Starry Night” has always been one of my favorites. And it is featured in the Starry Night Art Workshop for Psalm 8. The students use a combination of crayon resist and watercolor to create their own masterpieces focusing on phrases from the psalm.
This lesson about Adam and Eve and the Fall into Sin from Genesis 2-3 helps students make the connection between God, us, light (and the dimming effects of sin) in a beautiful way by “painting with light” using special photography paper.
I love how community member Betsy adds to this great lesson from our Writing Team (available to our Supporting Members) by adding some pictures and suggestions from her own classroom experience.
The Woman at the Well (in John 4) learns about the “living water” that Jesus offers her—and us. Students will have delicious fun changing everyday ingredients into ice cream while they learn about how the woman was changed on the inside after meeting Jesus.
(Say that three times fast!
)
This Art/Storytelling Workshop covers several “Wandering in the Desert” stories from the book of Exodus, including the Bitter Waters, Manna and Quail, and Water from the Rock. I really like the connection between the Sand Bottle ingredients and the stories—and that the students have something to take home and use in retelling the story to their families.
In this Drama Lesson, students are placed in groups and use some normal drama supplies—and their creativity—to create 6 different places mentioned in the psalm, such as the Green Pastures and the Valley of Darkness. Then they take a tour of all the places created by their classmates as you read and talk about the psalm. If you want some more in-depth explanations of the meaning of Psalm 23, then you can head over to the Psalm 23 Bible Background prepared by our Writing Team (the Bible Backgrounds are available to all members, not just Supporting Members).
What really attracts me to this Video Workshop in the Writing Team lesson set is the guidance given in using the Nest video of “Lazarus Lives”. There is so much more to this lesson than just “show the video”. It includes things for the students to look for as they watch, guided reflection, and suggestions for other possible videos.
February is a big month for LOVE and this game lesson at Rotation.org has BIG opportunities to teach about love. The game focuses on 1 Corinthians 13 with an exploration of life application situations. For example:
Love is... KIND
Tell something kind you did for someone. Move ahead 3 spaces.Love is... NOT ARROGANT
You think you are the best player in the game. Go back 2 spaces.A new kid just started at your school
...and you helped her find her classes. Roll again.
Other than the theme and scripture, one of the reasons I liked this lesson is that it has lots of ideas for cards but leaves room for teachers and kids to create their own. One of our members added a game board they had created...
...along with game cards that you may use. This can be a table board game or a life-size floor game with a large die (use a box the size of your choice!) rolled across the floor. I can imagine the sounds of thrill and disappointment as kids progress through the game.
Our Jesus Calls the Disciple public forums and Writing Team's Jesus Calls the Disciples and You! lesson set are full of great lessons and ideas for the "Jesus Calls" stories usually taught soon after Epiphany, Here are a few of my favorites!
This "fish prints" or "fish stamps" art project is not only fun, it's also a great example of the VARIETY of art techniques and materials found throughout Rotation.org. I especially like this one because it allows our youngest students to "paint" something more interesting than stick figures, hearts, and suns. The instructions show you how to turn dollar store sponges into fish stamps, but there's also an idea for using REAL fish (dead of course) for a super stinky and memorable lesson about becoming a "fisher of people."
Love this song! And the music video is a great springboard for discussion with some of your older students. It helps drive home the point that Jesus chooses you and uses HIS power to work through you.
Science Workshops don’t always show up in a church’s regular rotation of workshops, but this lesson might tempt you—in a good way, of course. It uses magnets to help your students understand about attracting people to Jesus (or repelling them). Then take the "science" up a notch by playing with an electromagnet to learn and demonstrate how the power of Jesus works through us.
Supporting Memberships give us the resources to have our professionally led and edited volunteer Writing Team come up with some spectacular ideas and here's one of them....
I love how this “pop-up book”-inspired Drama Workshop makes retelling the Bible story a very creative and fun experience. And the students learn and think as they come up with words and actions to perform when the director/teacher pulls on their “pull tabs”.
Finally, I want to "call" your attention to our Writing Team Bible Backgrounds in general and the Team's "Call of the Disciples" lesson set in particular. They are written for teachers and often have gems in them like this one:
You don't have to have great faith or be really smart or powerful.
Doesn't matter who you are. You are chosen based on his power, not yours.
You don't make yourself, Jesus makes you.
All you need to do is follow and be the student.
~a quote from the Writing Team's Jesus Calls the Disciples and You, Bible Background
The Team's free Bible Backgrounds are open to everyone. You can print them, link to them, or copy and adapt them to suit your needs. Visit the Writing Team's menu of available lesson sets
The Luke 2 story of Jesus the Boy in the Temple is a great story for helping your students start the New Year by pledging to BE LIKE JESUS in the church: engaged, learning, at home!
This creative lesson uses your camera or cellphone to help your kids put themselves in the story.
Students recreate and photograph scenes from the story of Jesus as a boy in the Temple in Jerusalem. They have the creative option to recreate five key scenes as a 1st Century "Bible Character Tableaux" — or do a "Photo Shoot" of Jesus ENGAGING in things around the church.
So many creative options! ...and such a great way to capture these memories and share them.
I was especially drawn to this lesson because it reminded me of a similar lesson in my church where we had kids and parents visit various costumed people at locations around the church.
The details of Jesus the young boy in the temple photo lesson can work for a very simple or elaborate application. What a fun lesson.
The Storytelling Workshop lesson in the Writing Team's Jesus the Boy in the Temple caught my eye because it uses a popular search and find game technique loved by kids to find Jesus throughout our church and worship space.
You may also want to search and find the neat book referenced in the lesson plan: Finding Jesus by Winston Roundtree. When I looked at the time of this post, it was available at a discount from several booksellers.
Where can your kids find Jesus in their story? Where will others be surprised to find your students' Jesus stickers around your church building, at home, around town?
This lesson has so many fun applications for the creative teacher who wants kids to see Jesus beyond the pages of their Bible.
The stark image comes from an article from Neil that I ran across here at Rotation.org and immediately shared with teachers at MY church. It's an article about the importance of creating attractive spaces and learning activities in our quest to reach and teach of kids for Christ.
READ: FIVE THINGS ANY SUNDAY SCHOOL CAN DO BETTER RIGHT NOW.
Here are those five things. The article has a lot of "how-to" detail for each one. 
What would you add?
The story of Jesus’ encounter with Zaccheus has a lot to love…and Rotation.org has a lot of Zaccheus lesson ideas to love. Here are a few treasures that I’d love to share!
This art workshop by Supporting Member (and former Board Member) Jaymie uses a crayon resist technique to focus on Zaccheus’ change of heart. Not only does this lesson result in some beautiful pieces of “heart-art”, but it also has some great teaching points and discussion starters.
The ability to download (for free) the Awesome Bible Stories software is one of the many benefits available to our Supporting Members. The first half of this computer lesson walks you—and your students—right through this great software. The second half of this lesson takes your class on a Google Earth tour of Ancient and Modern Jericho. And here is a handy tutorial on how get those images from your laptop or tablet or cellphone onto a screen that your students can see.
What I love about this “Out on a Limb” game idea is the way that numerous people contributed adaptations and additions to the initial idea (full disclosure—I was one of the many contributors 
). With all of these ideas, you should be able to find something that will work with your program!
There are also some great video options here at our site. Supporting Member Meghantoo has posted a short video with an object lesson and short animated Bible story here. This is just one of the MANY video shorts that she has posted, so there are even more treasures to be found! The Writing Team Lesson Set on Zaccheus (open to our Supporting Members) has a video lesson using several video clips. It also has a pdf attachment with some beautiful story cards to help teach and reinforce the lesson.
I really like this 5-evening VBS on "Bible Heroes" written by Rotation.org member Liz Weingart for her church—especially because it concludes with "our hometown heroes today"—the first responders in your community and church. I also like the way the lessons remind kids of the superpowers THEY have. While you may have already taught these stories in Sunday School, refreshing students' memories of these key stories is never a bad idea 
Then and now...
BE FAITHFUL... BE FORGIVING... BE STRONG!
Bible heroes and heroes in our midst are included in this VBS program designed for 5 evenings. Kids learn to forgive like Joseph and to be more obedient than Jonah. They learn that just like Moses and like local heroes, they can use their strength to help others. The courage that Daniel had can be theirs too! Throughout the week, students engage in the point of view of the Bible Heroes. The program concludes with a celebration of hometown heroes. This lesson set is packed with great story scripts and activities and could be used in many ways other than VBS.
Summary:
Like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, each of the following lessons about the Road to Emmaus has TWO great things going on in each one. They were a joy to "rediscover" in the archives of our site. While both require a Supporting Membership to access, I've included enough in each description below for everyone to glean a hint of these tasty teaching resources.
This software-using lesson not only has a fun and interactive way for the students to learn the story, but it also has a great reflection activity focusing on “seeing” Jesus—and how most of us need help to do that. The lesson is designed to be used with the “Jesus in Space” software (which is now free to our Supporting Members), but also has other suggestions for reflecting on how we "see" Jesus in our lives.
Supporting Members are able to download the computer software for free. They can also let their families download it and use it at home! (A great reason to purchase a Supporting Membership for only $45 a year!)
Neil MacQueen has a copy of the Jesus in the Snow photo along with a key, and notes about teaching with it available to all over at his software site.
The second great pairing involves this art lesson from the Writing Team's Emmaus lesson set (available to Supporting Members) and a great idea for creating Art Easels out of cardboard. In this lesson, students look at some Road to Emmaus artwork and then create their own painting showing the road, the disciples with Jesus, their hearts burning, and their eyes opening.
What do YOU see when Jesus walks with you?
Do others see Jesus in you? How?
Supplementing your lesson with some great visuals of Christian artwork could work for any number of lessons, not just this one. We have an entire forum devoted to online resources for Christian art and illustrations and graphics. Suggestions have been made by a number of our Rotation community members. I love seeing this support of our mission to help teach about Jesus.
And making your own art easels ELEVATES both literally and figuratively by adding a sense of importance and fun to the illustrating activity.
This video at Vimeo posted by our own CreativeCarol offers compelling inspiration for making disciples as well as many discussion starters. Here's the video:
This cooking lesson from Jan in Napa inspires, instructs, and encourages students to pray for those around the globe as their part of making disciples.
At the center of this lesson is a world prayer map for kids and a rice crispy globe to take home to retell the story. "Cooking up" disciples with prayer and rice crispies.
And #3: A neat object lesson to create a compelling and engaging look at sending the message around the world. With simple ingredients (cooking oil, dishwashing liquid, milk, and food coloring) this activity works in church or at home.
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