20 Uses for Traffic Cones in Kid’s Ministry

Those orange traffic cones are great for kid’s ministry. You now buy them in different colors. They also are inexpensive. Check out www.oriental.com where they sell for $12.99 for a dozen.

Try these:

1. Put a broom or dowel rod across two cones and have the kids jump over it.
2. Use the cones to make a fun, meandering path leading from one area to another.
3. Place water balloon on top of a cone and let the kids try to knock it off by throwing a rolled up stock at it.
4. Use it for a sign holder. Tape a sign to it and place the sign wherever you need it.
5. Make an obstacle course using them.
6. Play balloon soccer and use the cones to mark off goals.
7. Place one at the end of a gym or classroom and run off extra energy by calling out an animal. All the kids must act like the animal while moving to the cone and back.
8. Place large sticky eyes on them and draw a mouth.  Use as puppets.
9. Make a hula hoop ring toss game. Throw hula hoops at them, trying to ring them.
10. Use them to line up behind. Get different colors and have kids line up according to the colors. (First graders line up behind the yellow cone, etc.)
11. Make a giant vuvuzela  http://www.instructables.com/id/Traffic-Cone-Warhorn/
12. Make a hat for a fun skit or just to be goofy.
13. Hide the cone each week. Have the kids try to spy it first as they enter the class or worship area.
14. Give the cone a personality. Make a face on it and put a hat and accessories on it. The face can change as you talk about different emotions that kids face.
15. Make a Christmas tree out of the cone.
16. Have a safety cone decorating party. Let the kids work together to decorate the cones using duct tape, paint or stickers.
17. Use the cones for a bicycle or scooter safety day. Make a course for the bikes or scooters to travel.
18. Tape index cards with parts of a Bible memory verse on each cone. Scatter the cones around the room. Kids must run and collect the cone that goes next in the memory verse. To make things challenging, have more than one memory verse going at a time.
19. Use the cones to keep kids out of an area that is dangerous, under construction or you just don’t want them in!
20. Make an orange cone award. Make a big deal out of the cone award and give it to someone who has shown remarkable compassion for making sure someone was safe. You can make the award silly or serious.

Have fun with those safety cones! Be creative with just normal things. It keeps the spark in your kid’s ministry.

Easy Science Object Lesson, Big Wow Factor

Of all the science object lessons I do, this is one of my favorites. Not only does it have an unexpected result, but the visual makes the lesson stick in the memories of children long afterwards.

Oil, red water, dark syrup

What do you need: Graduated Cylinder (Or a tall clear container), dark Karo® syrup, vegetable oil, water, red food coloring.
Preparation: Mix a few drops of red food coloring into the water, making the water turn red.
Spiritual Connection: Salvation found in Jesus.

(Pour the dark Karo® syrup into the cylinder.)

God’s word tells us that all have sinned.  When we think of sin, we think of someone walking in darkness and not in the light.  When we are walking in sin, we are disconnected from God because He is light.  We cannot be in the light and be walking in darkness at the same time.

When we are walking in sin, we find that we get stuck in the muck of sin.  Just like this syrup is sticky and gooey, sin can be like this.  It can stick to us.  It can make it hard for us to escape. We may try to escape the trap of sin.  But the harder we try, the more we realize how stuck we are.  We need someone to rescue us from the pit of sin.

(Pour the vegetable oil into the cylinder.  It will rest on top of the syrup.)

We can try to rescue ourselves.  We can try to get close to God. We can go to church.  We can read our Bibles.  We can give money to the church.  We can try really hard to be good.  We can do nice things for people.  None of those things, however, will connect us to God.  None of those things will work.  We cannot save ourselves from sin.

God is holy and pure.  He cannot be next to sin.  So how can we be saved from sin?

(Pour the red water into the cylinder.  It will slowly move in between the vegetable oil and the syrup. Allow it to continue to sit and the difference in the three layers will become more pronounced. )

When we ask Jesus to forgive us our sin, his blood covers the sin.  Only through Jesus can we be forgiven and be put into a right relationship with God.

“Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”
Acts 13:38

 

One of those Sunday mornings…

Have you had one of THOSE mornings? You know the kind. One of your preschool teachers calls in sick and her back up teacher is out of town. Your own child is sick. Your husband is teaching his own small group that morning. You try and decide if your child is THAT sick. Maybe you could just put her in your office while you teach the preschool class. Nope that won’t work. . . you hear her in the bathroom and it isn’t good.

If you’ve been in children’s ministry for any length of time, you’ve faced a dilemma similar to this. I always had plans to make a “substitute” lesson for my classes but it seemed that always got put on the back burner. If you’re in the same boat, we’ve got the answer for you!

Our new Grab N Go bags are perfect for emergency situations. Everything you need is in the bag. And it is put together so simply that a teacher can literally pick up the bag and start teaching. Inside the front pocket, you will find six different lessons. Each lesson has all the separate activities on a card held together by a metal ring. You just read and do what it says. Then flip the card and go to the next activity. And the activities are fun but meaningful ways to learn the Bible story using methods that preschoolers love.

Also, included in the bag is a cd with the lessons that can be printed out , the activity pages and the craft pages. Just print the number of activity pages and craft pages you need and put them in a manila envelope in the bag. They are good to go. You can also use the cd to email the lesson to teachers.

Supplies that aren’t usually found in a classroom are in the bag.

Teacher emergencies just got easier.

PLUS this Grab and Go bag can be used as regular curriculum. What a great thing to use in between curriculums or as just a break from the normal curriculum.

For all our blog readers. .. we are going to offer a $10 off coupon code that will last for the next three months. Just put the code GRABNGO in when checking out in our store.

>>Shop Grab ‘n Go