How can I get a Story Hour program started at MY church?

I have been asked this question several times now. Thanks for all your suggestions and ideas. Here is the general "path" to follow:

• Get an idea of the interest level in your church. How many parents are interested in this kind of a program? How many children do we have in this age group?
• Talk to your ward elder/minister to gain their support. Let them know what the needs are in the congregation and how those needs can be met. Check what kind of formal permission needs to be obtained before starting.
• The two most important requirements are: a program and a space.
• Choose a Story Hour program that suits your needs. Consider who will be attending, who will be teaching, what kind of time period you have to work with, what you can afford to spend on buying a program; what kind of space you'll have available; what kind of budget you have for supplies, etc
• Find a space in the church for your program. Is there a room or a part of a room availble for you to use? Are there tables and chair for little people? Is there somewhere to store craft supplies? Is there somewhere for you to display completed crafts?
• Once you have permission, a program and a space, you are nearly ready to begin! Collect a few parents who are willing to lead the lessons and arrange a meeting. Review the program and talk about how each lesson will run so that you maintain some consistancy from week to week. Talk about how supplies are going to be collected and where they are going to be stored.
• Notify the church community about your program so that parents of preschool children know that the program is going to start, where it will take place, who is teaching and what is being taught.
• Get rolling! Be patient... many of us have found that it took about a year to get everything up and running smoothly with regular attendance, sufficient resources and good support. And don't be discourage along the way - a story hour program is such a blessing to the little ones who attend (and to their families!)

Opening and Closing Songs

What are the "opening" or "learning our names" song and "closing" song?

Why do we need to sing them every lessons?

Singing a familiar song each lessons helps get the children's attention and focus on the beginning of the lesson or signal the end of the lesson. Children love repetition, especially at this age! Little ones love to hear their names in a song and this helps them to get to know one another's names, too.

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Opening Song/ Learning our names song:

(sing to the tune of “The More we get together”)

Thank you God for (name)
For (name), for (name)
Thank you God for (name)
We’re glad (s) he is here!

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Closing Song:
(sung to the tune of The More we Get Together,
just like the opening song)

We love to learn together,
Together, together
We love to learn together
And give thanks to God.

Also can be sung with: “sing” or “pray” or “work”

Glanbrook - Coloring Pages File Box

Alice had a great idea on Sunday! We are going to add a file box in our Story Hour area with a labeled file folder for each Bible story.

How is this helpful?

• Before your lesson, check the file to see if there are any leftover coloring sheets or cut-out craft pieces in your lesson's file. That can save you some time!


• After your lesson, file away any extra coloring sheets that you may have printed/photocopied for your lesson. Also, if you prepared more crafts than you needed (I usually prepare for 12 children, although our average is 8), tuck the extra craft materials into a zip-lock baggie or clip them together with a paper clip and add them to the file for next time.

As we go through the lessons, we should be able to collect a file of extra materials so that you can grab a few extra if you have a large crowd that day, and you can pull out an extra coloring page if you have a busy, coloring-friendly group.

* Not in Glanbrook? What do you do with left-over craft materials and coloring sheets?

Paint/Glue Dabbers

How do you paint on Sunday?! Easy, use these:

I LOVE these paint dabbers from Crafty Dab. The colors are bright; they dry very quickly; they are super washable; they are sooo neat and clean that you can paint at church in your sunday clothes with NO mess. Gotta love them!

They are available at Michael's (among other places...)

You can check them out here:
http://www.daboink.com/craftydab/about_us.php

...and have a tub of baby wipes handy for a quick clean up!

They also make glue dabbers. I have tried them out with my children and find them to be as wonderful at the paint dabbers. Neat, clean and easy to apply. However, this glue is good only for paper to paper. If you are gluing on something heavier (like yarn or googly eyes) or attaching things that need to take some wear (like paper around a toilet roll to make a "puppet" toy), stick with trusty white glue. If the lid is left off by accident, you can simply rinse the dabber under warm water and ta-da - back in business! Who could ask for anything more?

Playdough... in church! Really?

Sure - even with carpet!

Commercial playdough is loaded with strong dyes that can stain carpet and clothing. Replaceing the playdough every few months really adds up and a few tiny pieces on the floor are visible from a mile away and stick like glue.

I like home-made playdough because:

• it doesn't stain
• it's super washable off fancy sunday outfits
• it sweeps or vacuums up easily
• it's non-toxic and edible (although it tastes yucky)

Here is my favorite recipe:

Measure 2 c boiling water and pour in a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 c salt until it's dissolved. Add 2 pkgs Kool-Aid* drink powder, 3 tbsp vegetable oil and 2 tbsp alum. Stir until combined. Then, adding 1/2 c flour at a time, add 2-3 cup flour to the hot water. Stir until the mixture forms a smooth ball of dough. You will need to get your hands in there at the end. Kneed the warm dough to smooth out any remaining lumps. Store in a sealed container. Refridgeration is NOT neccessary. Playdough will last 2-5 months depending upon how heavily it's used.

* it's got to be Kool-Aid! Cheap drink powders make crumbly playdough that dries out too easily.

Playdough Rules: keep it simple. Here are the rules that work for me. Repeat them to the children each time you bring out the playdough. Remember kids,

1) playdough stays ON the table 2) playdough is NOT a snack!

Welcome Activities

What you chose to do as a "Welcome" activity depends on how many children you have, and how much space you have. I suggest that you have a welcome activity(s) prepared so that the children have something to do as they come into the room. This gets your Bible Story Hour off the a good start by providing a calm, structured beginning. "Begin how you to mean to go on," the experts say.

Here are some ideas for a welcome activity:

• coloring... have crayons/markers and paper ready on the table. Here is a good place to use an extra coloring sheet that relates to the Bible story!
• playdough... a few lumps of playdough and some playdough "tools" get the kids to the table and busy. Just keep the tools to a minimum (think 1/child) or clean up becomes a big deal.
• dress up box... think simple and generic here - some long multi-colored scarfs, skirts, a fishing vest and straw hats, king and queen crowns and capes, etc.
• books... have a selection of good quality, age appropriate books on hand. Allow the children to sit and look at them, or have your assistant read aloud. We are working on a collection of Christian books for our Children's Room.
• toys... this can work really well, but think "quiet play" and plan for about 1-2/child. You don't want the kids to be running around whooping it up so that you start your lesson with hyper children and a big mess. A small bucket full of animals can keep a group of 3-5 year olds occupied until you are ready to begin the lesson. In our Room, we have a bucket of animals, a collection of multicultural people, a bin of wooden blocks and a bin of wooden puzzles and other simple games.
• puppets... small children learn with their ears, eyes, noses and especially with their HANDS! Puppets are an excellent way to make the stories real and memorable for little people. A collection of animals is great - think sheep, cow, camel, donkey, frog, bird, etc. Make people puppets that are not tied down to just one bible character (for example, make a boy, young man and an old man, rather than Samuel, Jonathan and Noah). Don't forget to include a king, queen and soldiers!
• felt board... cover a tack board with inexpensive felt. Laminate pictures (even coloring book pictures, carefully colored work well) and add some adhesive velcro to the back. Set out the pictures that connect with the day's story and allow the children to play with them on the felt board.
• musical instruments... a collection of simple, durable instruments goes a long way. Think baby food jars "shakers" with rice or bean, strings of bells, sandpaper blocks, tamborines, and "clappers".

If you have the room for more than one activity, set up a table with some books or coloring and a bucket of toys for play. You can use these same activities at the end of the lesson if you finish early and want to avoid "run around and scream" time. Parents love to pick up their children from a busy room filled with the murmer of happy children.

A small CD player with a CD of children's songs/hymns playing in the background sets a similar happy atmosphere.