Getting Ready

Decorating a room can be very exciting for children; just the tiniest efforts can make kids say "Wow!" That's one thing that I love about Children's Ministry: children are much easier to impress than adults and teens.
We have a very limited space at our church and absolutely NO outdoors play area. This has made it tricky for us to contain squirmy children! I've learned, through trial and error, how to keep our small Children's area interesting and fresh. Changing a theme and decorating the room to reflect that theme every 4 to 6 months can keep kids' attention and can even be a catalyst for some kids who have become sporadic in their attendance to "check things out" again.
Wall murals are a great way to add pizazz to a room, and are fairly easy to make. You can buy an inexpensive, white, flat bed sheet, buy a large piece of foam board from a hardware store, or use a large roll of newsprint to tack to one wall. (Our church acquired newsprint from an attender who worked at a newspaper office.) Then, Google "free coloring pages" on the internet to find whatever mural picture you are looking for - there are scads of choices. Try to find a simple design. Once you find the picture you want, print it onto a transparency sheet and use an overhead projector to project the design onto the bed sheet, foam board, or newsprint that is tacked to the wall. Use black markers to trace the design, and there you go! Markers or paints can then be used to color the design and add interest. We've even added cotton balls (for clouds) and craft butterflies to the mural to create a 3-D effect and add interest.
A unit craft is one way to keep kids coming more consistently. This is different from a one-time craft that the kids take home the day they make it. A unit craft is something they work on throughout the entire unit, adding things every week or two. The children can then take the craft home at the end of the unit, or the unit craft can be a way to gradually decorate the Children's Church room (which also continues to keep the room interesting).
Name tags aren't a major necessity, but I've found found them to be very helpful in a number of ways. First, I have a terrible time remembering peoples' names; name tags obviously help me with that. New attenders don't feel quite as uncomfortable if they can easily see everybody's names - including the teacher and helpers. Also, name tags are an easy way to track attendance; we hand out a star sticker every week, which the children put on the back of their name tag. At the end of the unit, we hand out prizes to everyone, giving special prizes to those who have been present the most (those who have the most stickers). Name tags can be made by using clip art to print a small design on a piece of paper. A regular sheet of copy paper should be able to produce 6 name tags, 3 on the left side of the sheet and 3 on the right. Cut the name tags out and laminate them by using clear packing tape to completely cover the front and the back. Trim the edges, then punch a hole in the top of the name tag, run a piece of yarn through and tie in a knot, making sure the piece of yarn is big enough to slip over the child's head. Make sure the children don't accidentally take their name tags home; they should be left at the Children's Church site to be used every week.


Unit Craft: Treasure boxes
Undecorated boxes can be purchased at a craft store. For a more inexpensive approach, you could instead ask church attenders to donate small plastic containers (such as sour cream or yogurt containers), and cover them with paper. Another idea is to use 2 disposable soup bowls per child; turn one bowl upside down, put it over the other, and attach by punching a hole or two on one side of both bowls and running yarn through the holes to secure the top bowl to the bottom. The top can then be lifted, like a lid. The children can decorate their "treasure" boxes with stickers, markers, or craft gems. Throughout the unit, the children will put beads in their boxes. You can have them gradually string their beads onto a piece of yarn or string, or wait until the end of the unit to have them make their necklaces or bracelets. Kids can then take their jewelry home to use for themselves or to give as a gift to someone they love (such as their mom).

Room Decorations: Two murals are needed to cover both "pirates" and "princesses": castle mural on one wall, pirate ship mural on another. Optional additions include: palm trees or fake parrots beside the pirate ship; artificial flowers, butterflies, and birds beside the castle. (Palm trees can be made with long paper tubes, such as what carpet stores use, and green construction paper for the leaves.) Sand (in clear containers) , seashells, and jewelry scattered here and there. Treasure chest, filled with goodies.

Nametags: Children can choose to be either a “pirate,” “princess,” or “prince.” Use clip art to put a picture of either a crown or a sword on each nametag.