Monday, August 30, 2010

worship notes for kiddos


Hey, everybody! I've had my head down and making a bunch of stuff, but nothing I can really share right now. I thought I'd share this though, if you would like it. It's a Christian worship activity page for your school-age kiddos that will keep them quietly occupied during worship while at the same time helping them to focus on what is going on.

I put it together recently for the congregation I worship with and it seems to work well, judging from all the quiet intentness from the little girls on our pew.

Click on the image above to see the full size version and right click to download it for yourself if you'd like to use it. Print it at full size on 8.5 x 11 inch paper.

Please note: You are very welcome to download and share it, as is. Do not alter it in any way. If you'd like to customize it, please create your own unique version. Thanks!

67 comments:

  1. This is great! Thank you for sharing. My son is too little yet, but I'll definitely tuck this away for later. While lots of the kids at our church go off to "children's church" during the service, I'd rather have our son with us once he's able to. I certainly sat with my parents every Sunday!

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  2. Ivy Mae, thanks! Yep, I have the same feelings.

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  3. This is wonderful. Although my kids are now high school and beyond, this reminds me of their confirmation years. Our church asks that confirmation students take sermon notes, which need to be turned in during confirmation class. When our son started taking notes, our daughter, who is 4 years younger, wanted to mimic him so she started taking her own notes and kept them in a box in her room. I recently came across that stack of notes and loved reading them and glimpsing back into her young faith. I hope your children are saving these as well!

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  4. This is great! I will definitely use it with my kids and maybe share with others if you don't mind. Such a good idea.
    Alice

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  5. Ooh, I love this! My kids are still too young, but I saved it in my "mmmcrafts" folder for a future date. :) I also forwarded a link to some of the other moms in our congregation. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Hi, Larissa. Robyn introduced me to your blog and I just wanted to say hi. Although my little one is too young for this now I will be saving it for future reference. Thanks! Amy

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  7. picknstitch, that is a sweet story!

    eatmoresmores, you'll be glad to know I had a smore every day this weekend. 20 seconds in the microwave and the girls get stools so they can watch the marshmallow turn into the StayPuft monster.

    Olivia, they can always draw a picture on it. :0)

    aprats, thanks and welcome! any friend of Robyn's...

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  8. I love this! What an amazing tool. My girls are too young too but I can not wait to use it. Maybe you can make one catered towards more 2 year old while I home school. You shall have a place in my will if you can do that one! A bunch of my friends would love this if you don't mind me passing this on. Loving the creativity you have!

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  9. What a great idea! I'll try to remember it when my granddaughter gets old enough for it!

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  10. Oooh this is so great! I wish I'd had it when my kiddos were little. Though it would probably still work for teenagers haha. :)
    Thanks for sharing! I'm going to pass it on to my SIL!

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  11. Thanks, y'all! I'm really glad it will be useful. No restrictions on sharing or reproducing. Just kindly do not sell it. (like you nice people would ever think of such a thing.)

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  12. Brilliant! Maybe it will work for my little boys too? :) They're 8 and 6.

    I know you said no restrictions on sharing, but can I print some of these up for our whole church? (If the pastors okay them?)

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  13. wow! thanks for this! i have four children. the two that sit through church are 7 and 5, well and my 8 mo. old. my 3 year old is in ss both hours. love following your blog. we recently moved back to tn from ca and one day i hope to meet you at one of these sewing events in atlanta. so sad to have missed made's as my husband was unemployed at that time. kristiebrock@yahoo.com

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  14. shaun, love to meet you too, looking forward to attending another one of those. 4 kids under 8! God bless you, mommy!

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  15. Thanks, this idea is a keeper!

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  16. This is such a fun idea and would be suitable for a variety of ages. I like that you included hymns, too, since they also are a tool for teaching. Thank you for being so generous with your talent! Have you ever thought about designing Bible class curriculum?

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  17. Hey, Shelly. Yes, as a matter of fact I've done a couple of bible class curriculums. I've done a bunch of stuff for toddler bible classes and Footprints of Jesus for 1-2 graders. I really need to clean them up so I can share them too. At the end of the very long to do list. I've got to come up with something for my 4th-6th graders this next quarter.

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  18. Such a great idea. Love that it's simplified to work with any week. Thanks for sharing!

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  19. This is great! I know I should not be surprised by the coincidence, but I just mentioned to my friend Amy (aprats) YESTERDAY that I wanted to come up with something new to engage the children during worship. Bizarro, huh? I was thinking about something along the lines of the Scribbles & Doodles coloring books - but Bible themed. Interested in a collaboration? :)

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  20. Robyn, not bizarro at all, considering our history. And a collaboration will have to wait until I can successfully clone myself. :-)

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  21. This is awesome!! Since you don't mind us sharing this, I'm going to link to it on my Facebook page. Thanks SO much for sharing! :)

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  22. These are cute, Larissa. When I was teaching the 5-year-olds we gave them folders filled with sheets like this. They were very competitive about filling them out! ;)

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  23. That is so great - thank you! We are right at the start of a church plant here, so children's work is not yet established. These will be great for giving the children a focus.

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  24. Thanks, Larrisa, I am always looking for new resources for our children at church! Wow! What a wonderful idea! Thanks again!

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  25. This is great! Gretch really needs something like this since her little mind thrives on repetition and organization. (Not that she is organized, tho. :) I can just imagine all the little heads bowed in the pew next to you. Thanks for sharing!

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  26. Larissa, this is great! I will definitely use this for my 3 girls (at least the two who are old enough to read). thanks for sharing, you are so generous with your talent! btw, Whipstitch has a serger class in November . . .

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  27. Dear blogger, I am a follower of her blog, and ...‏

    I'm really grateful to you for your inspiring work and blog, I follow with interest because it has brought her back the urge to do creative things, thank you !!!!!!

    Patricia Perez
    Canary Islands - Spain.

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  28. Larissa, I passed out copies at church yesterday and had parents, elders, and kids thanking me for a wonderful idea. I kept telling them about you and that you are a friend of Robyn's. (She and R used to attend here) They were used and one of the elders placed copies on a table to be used in the future. Thank you again for a way to encourgage our young ones to listen and learn about our God and Our Saviour, Jesus!

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  29. oh my goodness, i love this, what a fantastic idea! i always loaded my kids up with pens and paper and the always handy program of course. but this is fabulous. i would love to share it with some friends at church! so often there is nothing for certain younger ages offered but to go to church with us. thank you!

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  30. I've been a lurker on your site for a while, and this post just made me have to comment! This is perfect! I have been looking for something exactly like this, and just haven't had the time to get it done. Thank you so much for sharing! I'm about to print some off now for tomorrow morning.

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  31. What a fabulous tool! Wish I would have thought of it years ago when my children were younger since we kept them in the service with us. Thanks so much for sharing. I will pass it on!

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  32. Y'all, thanks for your very kind appreciation and the great feedback on the worship note sheet! You guys are always so sweet.

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  34. This is a wonderful form! I'm a children's pastor and have often struggled to formulate a sermon note sheet that will work well for my older students on the Sundays they join their families in worship. I linked to you on my blog - thank you, thank you, thank you! :)

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  35. I lofed your idea! I am going to do a little notebook with sheets like this - but in Portuguese, because the little one who is going to get it barely can read in our language. Thanks for sharing.

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  36. Thank you!! I can't wait to use this with my kids!!

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  37. This is awesome!! I can't wait to try this with my kids! Maybe I won't have to hear how "boring" church is every week! LOL

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  38. My 1st grade daughter has been using this for several weeks now and she loves it! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  39. Here from Pinterest. Thank you for putting something I have been trying with our 6 year old into such a great format!!!

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  40. Thanks! I just found this on pinterest. I have been meaning to do this. You just saved me some time! Hope to see ya soon!!

    Thanks!
    Emily

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  41. Thanks for the handout! Additionally, here is an article I think you would all find extremely helpful - called ‘The Family: Together in God’s Presence’ - desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/the-family-together-in-gods-presence This is an article by John Piper & his wife Noel about the family worshipping together. There are also some great ideas in this article about how to prepare children and create the environment in the pew for the children. My husband has really taken the lead on making the time in church with our children a special time for our family to meet with God. Would be a great article to print and read together with your husband!

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    1. Chris (Christ-centered Family), I so agree, I think it is important to worship as a family too! We have no 'children's church' at our congregation - we all worship together. I really appreciate your practical tips for helping kids to be engaged in the service. Teaching a child to be quiet and respectful during worship can be challenging, but so rewarding as you watch them grow and actively worship alongside you. Such a wonderful thing to hear their little voices singing to God during the hymns.

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  42. We just picked up one of these worksheets while visiting a church of Christ in western Kentucky. I have made "tally sheets" for my kids since seeing a friend do it for her kids in Mississippi. I think of 10 words and put them in a notebook for them to count. I always throw in a very random bonus word. If the preacher happens to say it, they get a prize. Your worksheet is really clever. We will be using it now in Mentor, Ohio where we worship at the Mentor Church of Christ! Thank you for sharing!

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    1. I'm so glad you've found it helpful! Thanks for letting me know!

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  43. I used this worksheet this morning with my 7 y.o. daughter and it really helped. I think I'll make a simplified version for my 5 y.o. who isn't reading yet.

    Amanda

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  44. I LOVE that you have this we can use...Addie has been taking notes during worship for the last year but the poor child barely gets two words written down before the next slide is up. I think this will help her a ton! We started when she was 4 just making tick marks every time she heard a certain word to now actually taking notes, following the same with Camryn who is barely 4 now. I love this so much better though, Addie might feel accomplished after the sermon is over! Thank you!

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  45. Thank you so much for this sheet! Just what I needed for my almost 8 and 10 yo. God bless you!

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  46. This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing :)!

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  47. This is a great tool! We've been using this at church with our kids.

    Would you be willing to publish the template, so that we can modify the words to be more specific to each week's sermon? Our preacher would like to have the kids listen for certain things each week, and is willing to get that info to me in advance so that I can customize it for each Sunday. Also, I need to add more song spaces and more scripture lines... although I'll probably have to move those to the back! Our preacher tends to quote about 30 each week.

    If you don't want it being messed with, I can probably make my own... I just don't want to reinvent the wheel after you've done such a great job!

    Thanks,
    Carmen
    www.domesticendeavors.net

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    1. Hey, Carmen!
      I'm so glad you have found it useful! Thanks for letting me know. That's a great idea for customizing the words to the sermon. I'd like to keep this version as is, so please feel free to come up with your own version and customize away!

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  48. This is wonderful--thanks for sharing!

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  49. You're gift of this worship item is a fabulous gift to our children.
    I am going to print it out and ask that we give it to any children staying in the service. It will especially help with those transitioning from Sunday School to sitting in a service. Thank you so much for your thoughtful gift for our kids!
    Beckwith Baptist Church, Carleton Place, Ontario

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  50. Hi! Thanks so much for this. Would you double check the link? I haven't been able to access it the last couple of days. Could be blocked b/c I am in the Middle East.

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    1. Hi, Sara! The link seems to be fine. I'm sorry you can't access it. If you'd like to send me your email address I can send it that way.

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    2. Hi. I am having issues with the link as well. Could you send me the PDF? Thanks!

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    3. Hi, Kim. If you send me your email address, I can do that.

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  51. Hi Larissa, Would you mind if I edited this document a bit and used it at our church? I would still attribute the original idea to you.

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    1. Hi, KD! Thanks for asking. Please don't alter my PDF in any way. However, you could certainly assemble your very own form and include whatever you like!

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  52. Last Sunday, I and my family were visiting West End church of Christ in Bowling Green, KY, and in the pew in front of us, I saw a mom with her daughter who was about the same age as my girl with several pages of these worship notes you designed. I didn't get a chance to meet the mom or daughter, but I remembered them so vividly, I hoped to find them online. And ... I found them! Yay! Thank you so much for making these. My ten-year-old daughter used one for the first time today. It's a great way to teach the children how to "listen" to what's being taught. BTW, I saw on your profile that you like novels. I'm an author who writes Inspirational Historical novels (Christian Fiction), if you wanna look them up. :-) ~Blessings, Sandi Rog

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    1. Hi, Sandi, so glad to know it has come in handy! That was my goal when I put it together, so I'm happy it's living a useful life several years later! Thanks for the heads up on your novels! Happy Mother's Day.

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    2. Happy Mother's Day to you too! :-)

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  53. Is it possible to get a Word Doc of this? I would like to edit which words they can mark to match up with the sermon topic.

    I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you so much :)

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    1. Hi there! If you'd like to make any customizations you are very welcome to create your own version in Word. Please don't alter my PDF in any way. Thanks a bunch! :-)

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