Daniel in the Lions' Den

Day 2 for Vacation Bible School had the theme of "Making Good Choices" using the Bible story of Daniel in the Lion's Den (Daniel 6).  Our "train ride" visited another part of Babylon and the King at that time was Darius.  Darius liked Daniel, but many of his men did not.

The men talked the King into making a rule that people should only worship the King.  The King signed the law and the men went about their evil plot to get Daniel.  When he was found praying to God, they went back to the King - who liked Daniel, but who had made the law - and Daniel was charged with the crime.  His punishment was to be thrown into the lion's den.

The lions' mouths were closed by an angel of God and Daniel was found unharmed - much to the delight of the King.  Daniel made a wise choice.  He didn't care about the rules of men.  He only wanted to do what God wanted him to do.....which was to worship and pray to only HIM.

Making good choices is one of the most important spiritual disciplines children can learn.....and we all can learn.  Learning to make wise choices - with God's help and choices that glorify Him - will help guide our lives in the right direction.  It will keep us from a lot of struggles, too!

My 1st and 2nd graders made cute little lion plates as a craft on Day 2.  We hung them from the ceiling to display them for open house that evening.  The children were so proud of their creations!

I found lion masks at a party store, so the children took turns acting out the story.  Of course everyone wanted to be a lion, but we needed a Daniel, a King, an angel and the men who were out to get Daniel.  

Another fun part of the story were the lion snacks.  This one has peanut butter, but a few children were allergic to that....so they just made their lion without that part.  The Reeses eyes were substituted with chocolate chips.  There were all sorts of variations on the lion, of course, but that's what makes it even more fun!

So.....on this first day of this new week and the beginning days of a new month, let's all challenge ourselves to make good choices.....just like Daniel!

The Fiery Furnace - All Aboard VBS 2012

It's amazing when you teach children about the Bible!  They are so excited to learn about it and they (usually) listen so intently.  It shows just how important learning more about God's Word can be and shows how much more we need to be teaching.....and learning.

I forgot to take a picture of the "fiery furnace" and the golden statue (pardon my drawing on the statue :), but when the black light is on, these two scenes "glow".  The children love it - and so do I!  But if you notice, the important part of the message are the words above the furnace.  The theme for the day was in those words:  Stay on Track by STANDING OUT, STANDING UP, AND BEING DIFFERENT.  Those are Bible-based words and exactly what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego did the day they told King Nebudcadnezzer that they would not bow down to his golden statue!

(Fiery Furnace craft - directions are posted on my recipe/craft blog HERE.)

What I told the students was that even adults sometimes have a hard time standing up and standing out and being different.  Sometimes we just want to blend in with the world and that's not good.  God wants us to be different.  He wants us to take a stand against what is sinful and wrong.  And sadly, sometimes we make into "idols" things that are just as silly as the King's golden image.  "Things" that can't do anything at all.  God wants us to worship only Him.

A fun part of VBS class is always the craft snack.  The snack just reinforces the lesson, but is a special treat for the children, as well.  This snack idea came from somewhere online (sorry I don't know where).  It's a s'more, but instead of a second graham cracker on top, you put three Teddy Graham crackers (they serve as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego).  In a small toaster oven in the room (my mother-in-law used the big oven in our fellowship room), we baked the snacks a few at a time.  The Teddy Grahams were unharmed (just like the boys in the story!), but the chocolate melted and the marshmallows browned!  After they were done, another Teddy Graham was placed on the snack to be the angel or the "son of God" in the Bible story (Daniel 3)

So, today, be like SHADRACH, MESHACH AND ABED-NEGO:  STAND UP, STAND OUT AND BE DIFFERENT!

All Aboard! Staying On Track - VBS 2012 (Part 1)

Just a few days after school is out comes our annual VBS.  This year's theme was different than any other we've done....a TRAIN theme with the name of "All Aboard! Staying On Track".  I was surprised that there wasn't an abundance of train items, but I managed to find some that were pretty neat.  This big train stand-up came from Shindigz.com.  It was great to take pictures of the kids as the conductor!

For attendance, I made "tickets" to be punched each day.  The tickets slid into pockets made from card stock.  The cloud paper was ordered online and made a perfectly pretty background for the room.

The students had fun punching their tickets each morning!

One thing I do almost every year is incorporate black light stories into the lessons.  Just for fun, I made this fluorescent train.  We pretended to be on a train traveling to our destination (where the Bible story was taking place that day) along an electrical tape train track.

This railroad crossing sign also came from Shindigz.

This train is a peel and stick train sold for children's room wall art.  It was a circus-looking train, so when I told the kids the Bible story about Daniel and the lions den, I teased that maybe the lions had to go to the circus since they didn't do what they were supposed to do by eating Daniel.  Of course, I made sure they knew this was just a silly thought and not biblical truth!

Another black light effect was the "Fiery Furnace" along the right side of this photo.  I'll show more about each lesson in the next few days.

What a fun week it's been sharing God's Word with these 1st and 2nd graders!  Teaching them about "Staying On Track" has been very rewarding. I pray that the lessons they've learned with help them in life each and every day.