You have probably seen, and chuckled about, the Laws of a Toddler quote. Its origin is a little uncertain but, if you have worked with toddlers or experienced these independent little two to three year olds, you know how true it is.

So, I've included it  in a handout sheet that can be slipped into any  training materials for leaders and volunteers who work with the 2-3 year old age group. It adds a bit of humour to the materials and provides a great introduction to any further training information about the characteristics of this particular developmental stage.

If you'd like to include it yourself and print off for your leaders, click the link below.

Elevate Pastors (Creative Children's Curriculum for Church & Home) is sharing the Christmas story with everyone  through a link to their new elevateathome.com site. Accessing the material is easy: click on the Step 1Bible reference for the passage to open and read; click on Step 2 to watch the video clip and animated Bible story; Step 3 click to download and print the activity sheets and badge. I'm happy to report that the movie clip is also able to be viewed on iPad which adds mobility to where families can view the materials if they own smartphones or iPads. This is also a great opportunity for Elevate to highlight their Elevate at Home resources for families. Enjoy these resources HERE..

If you haven't yet had the opportunity to check out Children's Ministry Deals, then it is worth your while doing so. Currently, they have a number of special deals on offer and this pack of colouring-in sheets is one of the freebies. These 71 original coloring page illustrations were created by two talented visual artists: the majority are from Mandy Groce, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Several more were contributed by Carlos Bautista, a Bible College student from the Philippines. The pack includes the themes: Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Fruit of the Spirit, the Armour of God and more...
Check it out HERE...

We're over halfway through this busy month with plenty to occupy your attention. But please, take note if you've been contemplating the development of an app for your church or children's ministry. Priced beyond your means? Well.. take note of the offer currently available through Roar. Throughout December, they are offering 1000 churches the opportunity to setup their app FREE with ongoing monthly costs of $30-$50, depending on the platforms you wish to make available- less, if you pay for the year upfront. They also claim that no tech expertise is necessary. Check out this offer here..

Schools have closed for the year... programs are winding up... Christmas events are filling the calendars.. and end-of-year celebrations are a joyous part of family, school and church life. So... are you looking for a couple of Christmas party games and activiites for kids to enliven these events?
If so, LifeWay have a wonderful selection of 'Minute to Win It' style games that you might like to consider:
Here's a break down of the games they played:

1. Ornament Scoot – Fan as many ornaments as possible into the designated taped off square using a wrapped gift. 

2. Balancing Ornaments – In teams of two, balance as many ornaments on a yard stick and the inside of a paper towel as possible!

 3. Christmas Card Cliff Hanger – Using only your breath, balance one side of a Christmas card on the table.

 4. Reindeer Games – Tie a pom pom to a string. Place the other end of the string in your mouth. See who can balance the pom pom on their nose the most times.

5. Ornament Conveyer Belt – Tie equal lengths of ribbon around two partners. Have teammates rotate their bodies to move an ornament around the entire circle. 

 6. Snow Storm – Give each player a box of tissues. See who can empty their box first, pulling one sheet of snow out at a time. 

7. Jingle Bell Rock – Tie empty tissue boxes to the waist of each competitor. Fill the box with jingle bells. The first one to get the most bells out of the box, wins. 

And.. they've even included a clip of the fun! What about showing the kids the clip of the fun before they try it for themselves??

As this year draws to a close, I know there are some who are stepping aside from their current role in children's ministry. Some are facing family challenges that are putting extra strain on their time and availability, some are moving elsewhere, some are taking on new roles or positions. Some may not even know where the coming year will see them but just know that God is leading them elsewhere.Whether this is an exciting new move or maybe a daunting prospect, it is sure to be accompanied by feelings of uncertainty and a degree of sadness that an important part of life and ministry has ended. With this in mind, I've included a post adapted for EchoHub by Gary Molander,changed a little for children's ministry, and  titled 'You are not your Ministry'.

I know some things about you:
I know that you are not your program.
I know that you are not your church.
You are not your technical expertise, or lack thereof.
You are not your voice, even though children love it when you're presenting the lesson.
You are not what your authority figures believe about you.
You are not your blog posts, or your readers' insane responses.
You are not your Twitter count, or your Facebook friend total.
You are not your impact.
You are not your success, and you are not your failures.
You are not that thing in your life that didn't work out.
You are not that thing in your life that worked perfectly.

But, I also know this about you;
I know that, in Christ, you are a child of God.

My friends, there will come a day when you no longer create exciting learning environments for children. There will come a day when the software you use is no longer in existence. There will come a day when you no longer serve in the church, in that ministry. There will come a day when he's no longer your boss, and they're no longer your leadership team. There will come a day when you quit blogging, and when people put Twitter and eight-track tapes in the same category. There will even come a day when your impact wanes.
But... there will never, ever come a day when you stop being a child of God.
Ever. 

If you're like me, you have everything organised for your Christmas events in children's ministry- program, music, skits, countdowns, clips, Bible presentation, everything.. except the craft activities.
Well, I've been looking at some of the activities and crafts available online so check out this selection:
* Printable Nativity Scene.. just print off and attach to cardboard tubes.
 * Mini Nativity Scene ornament... this craft uses Sculpey clay or similar. It looks great but would probably be best for older kids. 
*Family Fun has a great idea for making Christmas tree gifts.
*Family Fun also as a great design for an Angel Treee Topper... but for older kids- just print, cut out and assemble.
* Complete Nativity Scene can be downloaded here.. just print off, cut out and assemble.
*Simple Candy Cane craft.. kids can make the craft, attach a copy of the Candy Cane story and give as a gift.
* Heart Angel Craft for little ones...  Just print off the heart shapes and glue together.
* Origami Christmas Tree....   a bit tricky for younger ones.
And, it you're looking for even more Christmas crafts, Activity Village have an online Advent Calendar for crafts. Just click on today's date adn you'll be taken to a page filled with craft ideas and isntraction videos with new content for each day. Check it out HERE..

Only weeks ago, the local shopping centre gently hummed with its usual shopper activity. But as soon as we hit  December, the car parks have filled to capacity, frantic shoppers fill every checkout and shopping trolleys are in short supply. Everyone comments on their busy schedules and lack of time to complete everything before Christmas.
Well.. if you're also struggling with a lack of time to finish your list of children's ministry tasks before Christmas and are still looking for an appreciation gift for your leaders, you might like to use this suggestion.
Download this file and print off these small cards that read 'Thank you for helping to make our ministry ring with excitement.' Attach a Christmas bell decoration to each and give to your leaders with perhaps a chocolate, as well. I found this huge bonbon at one of the cheaper stores and slipped all of the cards with bells attached inside, added some chocolates and retied the Christmas bows. At our final leaders' meeting for the year, I set it on the the table and told them that I wanted to give them a 'big thank you' for their work this year, but I knew that everything accomplished was a team effort with everyone doing their part. So the 'thank you' was also a team effort for everyone to open and share. 

High Voltage Kids Ministry has reduced the price of their Christmas Countdowns to $2.99 just in time for Christmas. There are a number of these Christmas countdowns to choose from and they are downloadable.  Check them out!   
A sample countdown can be viewed below...

I thought it might be helpful to list some of the Christmas apps available, little realising just how many I would need to sift through. So here is a small list to get you started..
* Bethlehem the Beginning Advent Calendar- includes characters from the interactive Bethlehem the  Beginning book and includes verses and songs.
*Children's Bible Advent Calendar 2011- behind each window you'll find an illustrations of the birth of Christ and a Bible quote.
*Nativity Stickers Book- interactive sticker book, choose stickers, place on backgrounds
* Bethlehem the Beginning Book- the story of the birth of Christ as told by the animals, 'read to me' narration, full songs, interactive animations.
* Christmas Nativity Scene 3D- beautiful virtual diorama of the nativity scene, interactive, tap on elements to listen to audio samples
* The Bethlehem Nativity- create your own nativity scene, sound effects, story narrated with carols, create your own Christmas card
* The First Christmas HD- interactive storybook with rhyming storyline for young pre-readers
* The Bethlehem Story- read and record
* Christmas Countdown- counts down the days, minutes and seconds you need to wait
* Yummy Christmas- involve kids in Christmas cooking with easy, child-friendly recipes
For a bit of fun....
* Christmas Tree Decorator- create your own  tree with candy canes, iciles, coloured lights and more. Also counts down the days until Christmas
* The Flakery- create your own snowflake and watch a flurry of your snowflake creations.
*Christmas Fire- watch and listen to the crackling fire and Christmas music
*Holiday Scape- allows you to take a photo of your house and then decorate it
* SnowGlobe- experience a virtual winter wonderland, choose from built-in scenes or use one of your own photos.
*Christmas- countdown, advent calendar, wallpapers and gift list
* Christmas Photo Editor- allows you to add Christmas effects to your photos and create Christmas frames
Hope you enjoy these Christmas apps...