Alter snack

Here's a very simple alter snack that could be used for any lesson involving an alter. I used it when teaching about Abraham and Isaac. You could make this snack using different things. I used prepackaged peanut butter cookies. If you have peanut allergies in your class you would obviously not want to use these. Any square snacks would work! I used three stacked on top of one another and connected each cookies with a little peanut butter to keep them from sliding. For the fire I just colored some canned icing. I made some red and some orange. I put a dab of each color on top of the cookies and placed a few broken pretzel sticks on top for the fire. When doing this with the 2 year olds I put everything together and let them add the logs. Older kids could probably manage doing it all by themselves. 

A- Ascension snack

The Kindergartners started the ABC's of Acts this morning. Our first lesson was on the ascension of Jesus. Here is what they had for snack. Super easy and inexpensive. The kids loved it!

Used a jumbo gummy bear for Jesus. He is attached to a sour punch straw cut into a thin strip. You could use pull apart twizzlers as well and not have to do any cutting! Teddy Grahams are the followers watching as Jesus ascends. And mini marshmallows are the clouds. I attached the gummy bear to the "string" with a dab of chocolate so they could pull Jesus up through the clouds. 

Jesus Calms the Storm

VBS- "By the Sea" lesson- Jesus Calms the Storm

2 year old center- sorting boats by color

Jesus calms the storm craft. Use a piece of construction paper and fold the top down a few iches. Under the flap glue storm cloud and lightening.  Glue water and boat along bottom of construction paper. 

Lower flap and glue sun and white cloud. When you raise flap..you have a stormy sea. When you lower the flap you have a calm sea. 

Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"

Je-sus calmed the stormy sea.

Je-sus calmed the stormy sea.

Jesus spoke to the wind and said, "Peace be Still'

Je-sus calmed the stormy sea.

Our snacks to go along with the lesson were edible boats! We had apple boats with cheese sails and we also had banana boats with strawberry sails. These could be used with many lessons involving boats including Jonah, Paul being shipwrecked, Noah, apostles fishing, etc. 

Nets Full of Fish

VBS- "By the Sea" lesson- Nets full of fish

snack- nets with fish made using waffle pretzels, hershey kisses, and goldfish. Place kiss on pretzel and melt the for a few minutes in the oven. take out and press fish into chocolate. That's it!! So simple and tasty! Found this idea on Pinterest!

easy center for 2 year olds. Match colors and shapes

Fish matching center. Found foam fish on oriental trading

also found this craft idea on Pinterest. Used pieces of a laundry bag for the net, mini die cut fish, and jumbo popsicle sticks. 

Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It" 

The apostles caught a bunch of fish

The apostles caught a bunch of fish

Jesus said, "cast your nets on the other side."

The apostles caught a bunch of fish.

Jesus Calls the Apostles

VBS "By The Sea" Lesson- Jesus calls the apostles to be fishers of men! 

snack-  fishing poles using pretzel rods, pull apart twizzlers, and gummy fish! 'Glued' the twizzler and fish with almond bark. 

The 2 year olds counted the apostles. An upside egg carton works perfectly with there being 12 places to stick apostles on popsicle sticks! Also used the poster board with apostles while singing the apostles song and then used it in a matching center. Kids matched the smaller apostles with the one on the poster board. 

Tune: "If You're Happy And You Know It"

One day Jesus called some fisherman.

One day Jesus called some fisherman.

He called "come follow me"

They left their nets and went,

One day Jesus called some fisherman.

To go along with our "by the sea" theme the kids counted sea shells in one center

They also went fishing in a pool filled with tissue paper and fish with paper clips attached. I hot glued a heavy duty magnet to the end of a string attached to a pole for them to fish with.

Jesus Walks on Water

Just recently had our VBS. The theme was "By the Sea". One of our lessons was Jesus walking on the water. Here are a few things we did in the 2 year old class. 

Made a very simple paper plate craft using tissue paper, boat die cut, and Jesus clip art. 

Ate blue jello with a teddy graham as Jesus. Was able to get the teddy graham to "walk on water" by "gluing" him to a pretzel stick with almond bark. 

Tune: "If You're Happy And You Know It" 

Je-sus walked upon the sea.

Je-sus walked upon the sea.

Peter tried to meet Him there,

but the waves were everywhere.

Je-sus walked upon the sea

Making Bricks . . .

My mom was teaching the second grade class on Wednesday nights in the summer and they were studying the life of Moses and the children of Israel in Egypt.   She decided to make bricks for the kids to eat the night they were talking about what kind of work the Israelites did when they were slaves.  She melted chocolate almond bark in a pot and added chow mien noodles to the chocolate.  After stirring very well, she poured them into ice trays, and put them in the refrigerator to harden.  

Right before class, she took them out and VIOLA! edible bricks! The kids loved them!