No Recess for Mrs. James Class

Read the following scenario with your kids and discuss it.

Mrs. James told her fifth grade class to continue working quietly on their math because she had to take a letter to the office. While she was gone, Jeffrey ran to the front of the class and acted like he was Mrs. James.

“Morgan, I want you to stand and read page eight while barking like a dog,” he said in a high pitched voice. The class laughed.

“Quit painting your toenails, Stephen,” he ordered imitating Mrs. James as closely as he could. The class laughed again.

Just then the door opened and in walked Mrs. James. “I heard you all the way down the hall, “she yelled. “All of you will stay in today for recess and do extra work.”

Ask:

Do you think that was fair? Why or why not?

What if teachers give unfair punishments?

Why is it important to be fair?

Read Zephaniah 3:5--“The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.”

You can be sure that God’s judgment will be the fair. There is no sin in Him and He always does what is right. He is able to see inside your thoughts and will be a just and right judge.

Choose Your Sisters Punishment!

Tell the kids that today you will let them decide each other’s punishments. If one child does something wrong, let a sibling decide how he should be punished.

Before they decide the punishment, tell them to ask themselves two questions:

Is this fair?

Is this the punishment I would want for myself?

God has mercy for every one who believes in Him. When Jesus came to earth, not every one believed He was from God. They treated Him with disrespect and eventually had Him killed. There will be no mercy for those who treated the prophets and Jesus wrongfully.  

God Hates Sin

If your kids are using the CLEAR curriculum, they learned about God’s judgment on Ahab’s family. Ahab was a very wicked king who led God’s people to do wrong things. When Ahab’s son, Joram, became king, he did wicked things also. God wanted to stop this evil, so He instructed Jehu to kill Joram and Jezebel (Ahab’s wife).  It’s easy to teach our kids about God’s love, but it’s a little harder to explain His holiness. God has no sin and hates sin and will judge it (punish it).

Rent and watch the movie (or read the book) Old Yeller together.

Ask:
Why did Travis have to kill Old Yeller? (because he had rabies and could have infected others)
Why does God judge/punish sin? (because He is holy, to help others repent and turn from sin, because it is right)

Fire Escape Plan

Make a fire escape plan. An interactive site is www.BeFireSmart.com. Click on “Parents” and you will see the “Fire Escape Plan” which can help you make a plan with your kids.
1.    Plan your escape.
2.    Practice your escape.
3.    Prepare your home.

God has given us a way to escape His judgment of sin. Jesus took our punishment for sin and by accepting Him as our Savior, we can escape God’s judgment. Thank God for sending Jesus so we can be forgiven and go to heaven someday.

Snowflakes and Sin

Make snowflakes out of tortillas.

Items needed:
•    Flour tortillas
•    Canola or vegetable oil for baking
•    Confectioners sugar or cinnamon sugar or glittery sugar

1.    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To make it easier to cut the tortillas, put them in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
2.    Fold the tortilla in half and then in half again. (It will be thick and shaped like a piece of pie.)
3.    Cut triangles, circles, or squares out of the edges with scissors (as you would a paper snowflake).
4.    Unfold the tortillas and brush the tops lightly with oil.
5.    Place them on a cookie sheet and bake for about four minutes or until lightly browned.
6.    Sprinkle sugar on them while they’re still warm. Enjoy!

Ask:
What is a snowflake made of? (Each snowflake is made up of from 2 to 200 separate snow crystals. Snow crystals are crystals that have formed around tiny bits of dirt that have been carried up into the atmosphere by the wind.)

Just as a snowflake has dirt in it, every person has sin. What is sin? (wrong things that we think, say, or do, breaking God’s commandments)

Read Romans 6:23 (The wages—payment—for sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus.) The way to escape God’s judgment is by accepting God’s gift.

End of Year Awards

Since most schools have ended (or are about to end) for the year, take the time to reward your students for their efforts. (I’m not talking about paying them for grades, but recognizing their hard work.)

Make up awards (Free templates are available at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101043001033.aspx). Some suggested awards: creative writer award, good friend award, awesome artist award, perfect attendance award, math whiz award, etc.

Matthew 16:27 says, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.”

Some day every person will stand before God who will judge him or her for the works he or she has done. If you want God to say, “Well done (good job),” then, you must do good works now.

Rewarded for Good

Read Colossians 3:23-24:

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ.”

Tell your kids that you are going to reward them for good behavior for a time period (three days or five days).  You want them to understand that there will be a reward for obedience and good behavior.

Make up small pieces of paper that say “Caught ya” or “Way to Go.” Tell your kids that you are very happy when they do what they are supposed to do, with a good attitude and right away. Tell them you will be looking all week and will try to catch them doing good. When you do, give them one of the certificates. Let them trade these in at the end of the week for small prizes or a party or a campout in the living room.

You should do every thing to please God because some day He will reward you and it will be much better than anything you can imagine!

Sheep and Goats

As you are sorting laundry (darks from lights), mention that this reminds you of a sorting that will happen some day.

Matthew 25:32 says that all nations will be gathered before Jesus, the judge. And He will separate them as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. Only those who are followers of Jesus will be allowed to go to heaven. The others will be separated from Him forever. Jesus knows what a person thinks on the inside and that makes Him a good judge. He can know what is really true about a person.

The Tumble Tower

Build a tower or building with blocks. After building the tower, ask one of the kids to pull out one of the lower blocks. (The tower should come tumbling down.) Do it again--build a tower and pull out a supporting block from the bottom.

After doing this several times, ask:

What happened when we pulled out the blocks? (The whole thing fell down.)

One thing caused another. There are results when we do certain things.

What happens when we sin? (Bad things happen--now or later)

Sin (breaking God's laws) is a terrible thing and the payment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). God will judge the world some day. That's why it's important to accept Jesus and His forgiveness for sin.

Not Getting Caught Can be Worse?

Sometimes children don't always see the bad results of sin. Some TV programs picture sin as not being that bad–the person telling a lie can get laughs or is seen as being creative.

Write the following scenarios on slips of paper (or just read them). Ask the kids to tell (or act out) what might happen next.

Evan stole a pack of cards

Jordan talked back to his mom

Sarah was so jealous of the new girl that she made up a lie about her and told it to a group of girls

Jose cheated on a test

Abby talks and write notes during church

Explain to your kids that NOT getting caught is worse than getting caught. If a child doesn't get caught right away, he may continue in that sin which is far worse than being punished.