We have a Pentecost party each year. WE invite everyone to wear red play clothes, and bring a dish to share. After church we have a big bar-b-que, games, and softball. The whole place is decorated in red and we have a great time. This is a big celebration for us. Last year, for our children's time, I bought about 20 rolls of craepe paper. I explained to the children how a few people shared their faith to others and the church began to grow. We are all conected to each other by the Holy Spirit. Then I gve each child a roll of paper adn had them throw it to some one in the congreation, they threw it to someone else. This continued untill every one was holding a peic of the paper and the church was cover in red streamers. It was great. This year we want to expand the celebration. I need ideas and resources. The pastor would like the children and youth to help make a festive worship, with dance, jugglers, music, etc. The louder and more entergetic the better. Thanks vernett

For something fun and easy in the kitchen/science area. . .

Have the kids frost and decorate pre-made cupcakes with a Pentecost theme. Once done, insert a trick candle into each (the kind that does not blow out easily).

Have the kids inflate a small balloon, then light the candles on the cupcakes.

As you tell the story, insert a soft "whoosh" into the appropriate spots to replicate the wind in the story. When the kids hear the "whoosh" they are to gently let a little air out of their balloons and aim it towards the candles. When they realize that the candles won't burn out explain that that is very similar to the Holy Spirit's fire in each of us.

We used a music workshop for pentecost.The children were given different colored scarves - skin tones, white, red, ad blue and we talked about what those colors could represent - people, doves, fire, wind. Told the story, beginning with bacground info on Pentecost through the beginning of the church using Stravinski's Firebird Suite as background. The children were encouraged to interpret the story with their scarves as they listened to the story and music.

Because we did not do a rotation specifically for Pentecost this year, we did something fun (& quick) in our opening/gathering time. I honestly cannot remember where I read or found this, as soon as I do, I'll post the source.

Give 4-6 kids each a roll of red crepe paper, spread out through the room. Tell them you're having a party and they should hold the end of the crepe paper, then toss it to someone else across the room. That person holds part of it and tosses it to someone else. Continue till the roll is completely out. Make sure each child is holding a piece of the streamers. It will be crisscrossed through the room. (Our kids loved it ... the process and what it looked like when we were finished!)

Explain the story of Pentecost. Tell them that when they received the streamer from someone else, it was like someone telling them about Jesus ... when they passed it to someone else, it was like what we're supposed to do ... pass the Good News.

I had each of the kids tear off a small piece of streamer and tuck it in their pocket or sleeve to be able to take out later in the day and tell someone why they had it. I kept mine in my pocket and brought it out again as part of the children's message during worship.

Jan @ FPC Napa CA

For an idea of speaking in tongues, we purchased a card game called Bible Mad Gab very inexpensively at our local Christian book store. It consists of words on a card which when read doesn't seem to make sense but actually lists a bible sentence or phrase when the kids figure it out. It sounds like they are speaking in tongues but they are actually saying something of importance. It was a lot of fun and brought the point across really well.

I needed a stand alone Sunday lesson for Pentecost so I put together this lesson (mostly from ideas on this site). We sent out birthday party invitations, the kind you send out for a kid's party. The return address was from "H.S." with the church's address.

As the children arrived they made fire sticks and red and orange paper flowers(directions for both found in "Things to Make and Do for Pentecost")

By the time they finished all the children had arrived. We gathered in the storytelling area. We handed out party blowers (the kind that roll out when you blow them) and party hats that had a red tissue "flame" attached to the point. We made sure they had thier fire sticks.

As we read the story from the Bible the kids used their "party props" at the appropriate places. Blowers for the great wind, fire sticks for flames dancing around the room, and party hats for flames resting on the people's heads. We discussed the story. Then I read the last verse of the story that talks about breaking bread. What kind of bread do you have at a birthday party? Birthday cake! We iced and decorated cupcakes. Then they each got a candle in their cupcake and we lit them. Sang Happy Birthday and told the kids to blow out their candles. But they didn't go out...they were trick candles! We then talked about the Holy Spirit always being with us...just as Jesus promised.

Hello, eveyone!
Here a sense oriented Pentecost Rotation.
Sense of Touch

K-1 and Grades 2-3
Objectives:
TSWBAT identify Pentecost as the birthday of the church.
TSWBAT recognize the influence of the Holy Spirit descending as wind and then fire to give the disciples hope and guidance for the future.
TSWBAT view Jesus Ascension as the way for the Spirit to come.

Materials:
Ascension and Pentecost Photocopies
Crayons
Kleenex Box (Touch and Feel Box)
Touch and feel items
Red Paper
Aluminum Foil
Glitter
Glue
Scissors
Popsicle Sticks
Flame Pattern
Children’s bible with the story of Pentecost

Warm Up and Procedures:
1. Children will arrive and teacher will greet each one. While they are awaiting everyone’s arrival, the children will color a picture of Jesus’ ascension.
2. Discuss picture and pray once everyone has arrived.
3. Display items that may be in the touch and feel box. Hide the objects. Allow one child at a time to touch a hidden item in the box. Play this until everyone gets a chance to guess what it is and gets to put something in the box.
4. Read the story of the Ascension and Pentecost to the children. Ask kids to help retell the story adding wind parts and make noise for the believers talking all at once.
5. Trace and cut out flames from red paper and aluminum foil. Glue this together and put glitter on them. Attach a popsicle stick.
6. Use play dough. First each child will shape what they want and then shape a piece of their dough into the shape of a flame.
7. Use shaving cream to draw flames on the table tops.
8. Retell story using their flames.
9. Color picture of Pentecost.


Grades 4-6

Objectives:
TSWBAT identify Pentecost as the birthday of the church.
TSWBAT recognize the influence of the Holy Spirit descending as wind and then fire to give the disciples hope and guidance for the future.
TSWBAT view Jesus Ascension as the way for the Spirit to come.
Materials:
Bible, napkins, a tray, plastic spoons, a jar of pizza sauce, shredded cheese, sliced pepperoni, small round crackers, paper for Origami
Procedures:
1. As children come in, greet each one by name and invite them into the circle of friends.
2. Pray together. Ask the Holy Spirit to some into our lives.
3. Explain that they’ll be making pizza rounds in an assembly line and that everyone is a helper. Show how to make the pizza rounds and then give kids 3 minutes to make them.
4. After 3 minutes has passed, gather the kids and ask
What was it like doing this job in only five minutes?
How did it encourage you to have helpers?
Could you have completed this task on time without help? Explain.

Sometimes we have tough jobs to do and need help. As Christians, there are many jobs that require special help. Missionaries need help bringing God’s Word to foreign countries. Pastors need help in serving others and telling people about Jesus. It’s a good thing Jesus sent us a special helper! Let’s find out who that helper is and how he helps us.

5. Read aloud John 14:15-17, 26 and John 15:26

Then ask:
Why do you think that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help us?
How did Jesus demonstrate his love when he sent the Holy Spirit?
How can we let the Holy Spirit help us more fully?
What are things the Holy Spirit can help us do?

6. Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit as our special comforter, friend and helper. The Holy Spirit helps us do what Jesus would do if he were here on earth. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we can serve one another, love each other and offer help to those in need. Just as we helped each other make snacks, the Holy Spirit gives us a mighty helping hand!

7. Make the origami doves - a symbol of peace and the Holy Spirit.

8. Share treats with other classes and share with them the great news about our special helper, the Holy Spirit! Pray!

More Pentecost ideas...

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My book, "Bible Banquets With Kids" (Abingdon, 2000) includes a program on Pentecost...music, movement,drama, food, crafts etc.

Cindy Dingwall

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April G.
posted April 21, 2003

We are beginning a rotation on Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, but are wondering about object lessons, art/craft projects, videos, or drama/puppet ideas appropriate for Pre-K/Kind. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!

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Liz W.
posted April 23, 2003

Hi April - We are just starting Pentecost and it's going great! Since we've had a few years behind us, we are having our Prek class do the same things the rest of the kids are doing. (They really want it that way!) We are making candles during art (with ALOT of supervision), and they are watching parts of The Fiery Furnace from The Visual Bible Series. To add to the movie time, they are making small gifts for people out of construction paper, red poster board, curly ribbon, etc. For your drama room, perhaps you could have a birthday party for the little ones, with the church in mind. Other ideas...decorating kites, windsocks, windmills?? I haven't posted the lesson yet, but will do today. Hope it helps!

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Star Amsbaugh
posted April 23, 2003

Before I came to my church, somebody taught a lesson on the Holy Spirit raining down on us. They printed out a banner on their computer saying, "let the Holy Spirit rain down on us!" and they had blue paper with big rain drops cut out. It must be a half-page each rain drop. Each one had lines in it. The kids did acrostics with their names to say what kinds of awesome attitudes or gifts they had--for example, several of the kids with C names put down that they were caring, compassionate, etc. That was probably the 2d-9th grade age range.

Something that might be cool would be to have each kid make a few "tongues of fire" (from the 120 tongues of fire), and to make a large banner out of it with either paper or felt. Or, it could make an interesting mobile--each kid could string their tongues of fire in different colors, and they could all make one huge mobile or many small mobiles to hang from the ceiling at the church.

We usually have a birthday party on Pentecost for the church school children. Begin with a reader's theater presentation of the story (use a Bible story book done by older children or adults. It has been a tradition that children go outside and draw chalk pictures on the sidewalk of themselves with flames over their heads. We have also made wind chimes using old keys (the church was re-keyed and I couldn't throw away the old keys). Hang them from a brass ring with fishing line. Then everyone goes inside for cake and red punch.

Our first year of rotation we had an open house on Pentecost (the end of our school year) and the whole church was invite to go through all the workshops and participate in a short something in each one. Two I remember:

Art: Everyone traced and cut out their handprint from red, orange or yellow felt and someone helped them glue it to a large felt banner. The handprints started at the bottom with red, then orange, then yellow and were shaped into a large flame. At the top of the banner was a white dove coming down. We then hung it in the sanctuary during worship.

Game: With "Boomwhackers" everyone followed the colored notation for a song, which they couldn't tell at first what the song was (talking in tongues?) until it was played through -- it was "Happy Birthday". Fun! http://boomwhackers.com/

There is a 3 week lesson set that we did 2 years ago for Pentecost on the lessons. It is from Trinity Episcopal Church. When we did those 2 years ago, no way would any of that ever happened in our church with the exception of the kites and those had to come down after only 1 Sunday. Took longer to put them up than they were used with people present.

This year I am pleased to say we will have one of the most festive Pentecosts ever!

The worship committee (the most conservative people I have ever known) have decided that since the Children's Choir (new this year) is singing they should process with colored streamers and they will wear flame colored shirts instead of their traditional black and white. The children and I are tye dying some 18 feet long scarves and will hang them across the church from the rafters. The adults and the children are making about 1000 doves, the adults are doing white and the children are doing red, yellow and orange ones and there will be a huge mobile hung in the church (3 times bigger than the one the children and I did 3 years ago) and the readings will be done in other languages at all services. Then on Pentecost evening we are having a parish wide party and the children's choir will be singing and performing and we will eat together and pot lucks are what Episcopalians do best - ha ha. A flame cake is planned and I will hang our banner from 2 years ago up somewhere outside.

I am a little anxious as to how all of this will be accepted, I hope well. New ideas take years to grow on people but I am slowly wearing them away. First I do it privately with the children and sooner or later the adults want to experience it too.

I can tell you it is the children's choir that started it all being accepted by the parish. I did musicals for 3 years outside of the church with the children and they they acted like they invented the wheel when they started an official children's choir. The children are now welcomed into the church, sing twice a month and other than providing 2 boys, I do nothing else. The spill over to Christian Ed is amazing. More has happened this year than I ever accomplished by myself in 6 years.

Sheila

Pentecost Lesson
All children participate in this lesson on Pentecost, May 15, 2005

Scripture: Acts 2:1-47

Key verse: Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him. Acts 2:38-39

Objectives: Children will be able to tell the story of Pentecost, and identify it as the birth of the church.
Children will recognize Peter as leader of the early church.

Overview: Children will see a video showing Pentecost (alternative: hear a reader’s theater about Pentecost). They will discuss what happened in the story and put the story elements in order. Then children will make chalk drawings of themselves with tongues of fire over their heads on the sidewalks around the church. Children will have birthday cake for the church’s birthday.

Materials: Video or reader’s theater script
Reader’s theater taken from Creative Ideas for Pentecost, Linda S. Davidson, ed., Educational Ministries Inc. 1994
White board or overhead projector
Poster boards with story elements written on them
Sidewalk chalk
Birthday cake
Trick candles

Lesson: Show the video or perform the readers’ theater.
Using a white board or overhead projector, ask children to outline the story. (Who was there? Where were they? What happened first? How did the people react? Then what happened?)
Hand out poster boards with the story elements, preferably 1 per child.
Ask the children to arrange themselves in a line so they tell the story in the right order. Children then read their cards in order so they hear the whole story.

Reemphasize the tongues of flame over the disciples’ heads. Explain to the children that they are disciples too. They have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Describe the art project – chalk drawings outside the church. Children will go outside and draw pictures of themselves with flames over their heads on the sidewalks around the church. (Be sure children know they are to stay with the group and not wander away. Station adults at intervals so they can encourage and watch the children.)

When the chalk pictures are complete, children will come inside for birthday cake. Use trick candles that cannot be blown out to symbolize that the Holy Spirit is with us always. Sing happy birthday.

Hi,
I love the wind chimes idea with using old keys.

Our Worship and Music Team is hosting a wind celebration. On Pentecost, the kids are invited to a kite fly.

Thank you

marie

May 15, 2005
We had all kids K5-5th together.
1) Divided kids into 4 groups (included readers and non-readers in each group). Each group had a part of the story of Pentecost to read and act out.
2) I made a banner from white bulletin board paper about 3 ft X 5 ft. I pasted a large descending white dove with blue background from clipart at the top and sketched in with pencil a large flame at the bottom. Each child got a piece of red, orange, and yellow construction paper folded all together in half. They traced their hand on the outside and then the older kids help cut out all six hands at one time. If you have more kids than we did, each might do only 3. We then glued them to the banner starting at the bottom with red, then orange, then yellow so it looked like a flame. We then hung the banner on the sanctuary door for the late service.
3) Ended the class with birthday cake!

As we went into the late service, everyone was given red, orange, or yellow crepe paper strips to wave as the choir processed in with 36 inch strips of red, orange, or yellow crepe paper strips attached to the end of 1/4" dowels. It was very colorful!

posts moved to consolidate topic.

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diaconal
Posted May 09, 2005

We offered two workshops for the theme of Pentecost. One was the creation of Tibetan Prayers flags; the children drew or wrote their prayers for the world knowing that the Wind would take those prayers to the world just as the Tibetan monks do. I used photos of Tibetan Prayer flags from books featuring those climbing to Mount Everest and stop in Tibet on their way. The final week we will climb onto the roof of the church and share what our prayers are with the entire gathering of Sunday School children and hoist them onto a line to remain there for the duration of one year. It is understood that the fading flags is evidence of the prayers leaving us to go to the world.

The second workshop is creating a church; each age group will reflect on some questions and then create a promotional poster to share with the rest of the Sunday School on the same day as they hoist their prayer flags (this year May has 5 Sundays) The questions for reflection are: what is the name of your church? who offers leadership at this church and what are five of the beliefs that they church holds close to their hearts.

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This post by Penguini was missing from the new board:

I recently purchased a resource book called A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays by Robin Sampson and Linda Pierce.
Publisher: Heart of Wisdom Publishing (June 2001)
ISBN-13: 978-0970181602

It has a wonderful chapter on the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) which is our Hebraic roots for the Pentecost celebration. The chapter talks about the Purpose of Weeks, Weeks in Bible Times, Jewish Customs of Weeks, Messianic Significant of Weeks, Suggestions for Celebrating Weeks, and a large number of ideas for activities. On top of that, there is an appendix in the back that provides suggestions for home schooling parents on how to tie in subject areas such as science, language arts, and history to studying the Feast of Weeks.

A highly recommended resource! We are hoping to go through all the biblical holidays in our next Christian Ed year using the workshop rotation model and this book is being used as the foundation.


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<Ministry2Children>
Posted May 17, 2004

There is a Pentecost lesson recommended for ages 2 & up (Non-readers and early readers).

Lesson: PENTECOST: The Birthday of the Church
FAITH LESSONS© by H.M. Ward
http://ministry2children.tripod.com/pentecost.htm

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Exchange Volunteer added another idea to this post.

On Pentecost we will have everyone in the congregation wear red...then we will have an intergenerational lesson on wind and fire...hotdogs roasting and kites blowing. Let the Holy Spirit move!

I just want to say I LOVE THIS IDEA! I hope we will be using it in some form, and I'll let you know how it goes.

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diaconal
Posted May 09, 2005


The second workshop is creating a church; each age group will reflect on some questions and then create a promotional poster to share with the rest of the Sunday School on the same day as they hoist their prayer flags (this year May has 5 Sundays) The questions for reflection are: what is the name of your church? who offers leadership at this church and what are five of the beliefs that they church holds close to their hearts.