WORKSHOP ARCHIVE

Crafts and activities that we have done with our children on the Lord’s Days can be found on this site: http://cmworkshop.nl/

WORKSHOP IDEAS

This section offers some workshop ideas to serving saints. Workshops can be organised in blocks to make planning and implementation easier. There is a planning example of how this can be organised.

  1.   Science
  2.   Cooking
  3.   Gardening – preparing, making and caring for food producing gardens
  4.   Meeting place maintenance – Weeding/grounds cleaning, house cleaning (to develop a sense of belonging and responsibility)
  5.   Team building games/activities (character development)
  6.   Outdoor/indoor activities/games/sport/board games
  7.   Do you know? (Interesting facts/knowledge – may include  demonstrations/illustrations/media  etc)
  8.   Inspirational books – e.g. read through a chapter or so each session and discuss (such as Bruchko by Bruce Olson, Heroes of the Faith series)
  9.   Useful learning – e.g., healthy eating, looking after ourselves, etc.
  10.   Art and/or Craft
  11.   Music – learn an instrument
  12.   Learn a language (e.g. Chinese/Korean/French)
  13.   Technology projects
  14.   Photography – snapping God’s creation (smart phones, ipads and devices, cameras)
  15.   Themes: For example, Working together/Helping others, etc.
  16.   Life skills

An example of possible workshops over a term (10 week block)

Workshop activity Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Weeks 1-3 Modelling (relate­­­d to lesson theme) Make clay animals. Choose your favourite animal. Mould it out of clay (step through a process – body, legs, head shape etc – look at pictures) Leave to dry. Paint and varnish. Children could make several over the three weeks. Display in meeting room. Make a huge paper mache Earth Add some mountain peaks/ranges (Google where the biggest ones are). Paint in land masses and sea (Look at maps/pictures from space). Varnish. Hang from ceiling. Make a papier mache solar system to scale Use balloons where appropriate to start – Flour and water glue and newspaper. Finish with paint appropriate for each planet and varnish. Attach to ceiling. A section of the Sun could be cut from cloth and attached to corner of a room to keep scale.
Weeks 4-6 Thinking and team building Games Team building games – combination of working in levels and whole group activities.http://www.elementarymatters.com/2013/05/team-building-activities.html
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/10-team-building-games-that-promote-critical-thinking/
Weeks 7-11Science and technology Work in own levels – science concepts and technology according to level. Week 8Kite Making/Flying 

Different kites to suit various levels (Google Kite making)

Science: Forces on kites – aerodynamics
Week 9Rockets 

Science: concepts about thrust and drag.

L1&2 Effervescent Canister rockets http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Rockets/Teaching-and-Learning-Approaches/Film-canister-rockets

L3   Water bottle rockets http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Rockets/Teaching-and-Learning-Approaches/Water-bottle-rockets [Rocket launchers can be purchased from Jaycar for about $45 – or they can be made]

 Week 10-11Electric cars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnxNe_XjlWg

Science: Concepts about electricity, such as circuits and the movement of electrons. Propellers – thrust and drag.