Supporting Children (and Parents)

Sunday, June 28
Hello everyone, we hope you had a lovely Fathers’ Day as well as a way to honour and celebrate the National Aboriginal Peoples’ Day last Sunday.
Today marks my last time with you at Trinity Lutheran, but do come on over to Holy Trinity Anglican some time and I would love to greet you there again!

Here is a colouring page to go with the gospel lesson for Sunday.

And here are some more ideas for what do to when the children are home for the summer….

Have a lovely summer everyone,
God bless you!
Pastor Eileen

Sunday, June 14
Hello everyone!

Today’s Gospel Lesson is about Jesus sending out His disciples into the world. Join me again with your Legos as we think about what this might mean for us today.

Here are some ideas to keep you active when stuck inside. activeforlife.com/stay-active-indoors-on-rainy-day… *
Parents, are you looking for ways to help kids (and adults) handle stress? Here are some ideas extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/knowledge… *

Trinity Sunday (Sunday, June 7)
Hello everyone,
today we think about what it means to have God as 3 in 1. Join me with your Legos as we build something to help us understand.
I also am sharing some colouring pages on the topic of the Trinity.
trinity Coloring Book Page
Holy Trinity _ Super Coloringindyschild.com/70-things-to-do-with-kids-now-that-…)

Parents, are you looking for resources on how to talk to your kids about racism? Here are some suggestions that you may find helpful. This page gives good information www.parenttoolkit.com/social-and-emotional-develop… . Often books are a good way to introduce topics, here is a list of children’s books you may find helpful www.embracerace.org/resources/26-childrens-books-t… . Sesame Street and CNN are holding a town hall for families about racism this Saturday – here is the information www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/us/cnn-sesame-street-standi…

youtu.be/FVamrS9AbgQ
Today we celebrate Pentecost. (Sunday, May 31)
If you sent us a picture of your Flame drawing, watch our church service video to try to spot it. If you haven’t coloured your flame, do it today!
PentecostColoring
Also, get your legos ready, listen, build and wonder about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We would love to see your creations! Please take a picture if you are willing to share and send it to Pr. Eileen

If you are enjoying the ability to be outside but still looking for ideas on what to do in a physically distanced way check out these for fun and learning activities with bubbles: www.notimeforflashcards.com/2018/03/15-captivating…

Parents, are you looking for ideas to help your children develop skills to support mental health? Check out this resource for easy and fun ideas to help children develop the skills to manage stress, identify emotions, know and feel good about themselves, nurture relationships and plan and problem solve. smho-smso.ca/blog/12-easy-and-fun-mental-health-pr…


Hello everyone! (Sunday, May 24)
This week we hear the story of the ascension of Jesus—His return to His Heavenly Father.
Here are two colouring sheets for you that go along with the readings and bulletins for readers and pre-readers.
ascension stained glass
ascension

And don’t be shy…. I am still looking for photos of your colouring of the Pentecost flame!
PentecostColoring

Looking for outdoor activities that comply with physical distancing recommendations? This site offers guidance on how to map your neighbourhood.
www.orienteeringalberta.ca

Have your children had trouble sleeping during this pandemic? You are not alone! Here are some ideas that may be helpful for them (and perhaps for you as well).

COVID-19 and healthy sleep habits

Hello again! (Sunday, May 17)
Did you know that there is NOTHING that can prevent God from loving us?
Today I talk with you about Jesus’ message to us about God’s love. So get your lego ready and watch and build. If you make something you like, take a picture and send it to eileen@trinity-lutheran.ab.ca.
Also because Pentecost is coming, we would love to have your flames as part of the worship video for May 31. Attached is a picture you can colour or feel free to create your own. Send me a photo of your coloured picture and we will include it.

We hope you are joining for worship each week by watching, singing and praying with the video posted each week.

PentecostColoring

Hey children, here are some more ideas for things you can do while you are at home: activeforlife.com/42-activities-to-keep-kids-busy-…

During this time it is normal for kids (and adults!) to feel anxious. Here are some ways to combat anxiety – see what works for you. gozen.com/50-calm-down-ideas-to-try-with-kids-of-a…

peace,
Eileen


Hello everyone! (Sunday, May 10)
Today Jesus talks about His Father’s house in heaven. So get out your Legos and join me as we discuss Jesus’ words. Build along and send me a picture of what you build.
Also here are the pages for you to use when you listen in on today’s church service.
God’s House Coloring Page A

Loving our neighbours
As I have been walking in my neighbourhood and in the parks I have seen signs of love and encouragement. There have been hearts in windows, messages in chalk, and rocks painted with flowers and messages and they have really lifted my spirits and helped me to feel connected to the people in my community, even while we are keeping physically distant. We want to give signs of love and encouragement to the people in the neighbourhood of our church. Will you help? We are asking people to make hearts with messages of encouragement or beauty and to mail them or drop them off at the church. Pr. Ingrid will hang them in the trees in the community garden. Here is a heart to colour, if you want a suggestion (link here please to coloring page W4) but feel free to make hearts in any way that you like!

Hello Children and Families! (Sunday, May 3)
Today for Good Shepherd Sunday, get your Legos and be ready to build as we look at the story found in the gospel for this Sunday. Click here to see the video. I would love to see pictures of what you create—please email them to me.

And later, you can build a balloon powered Lego car, just for fun! See this page.
But first, while you participate in the video worship service, you can choose to follow in any of these activity sheets I am sharing today.

sheep template
good shepherd colouring 2

And parents, here’s a quick resource from UNICEF on how to support your kids during this pandemic. Click here.

Hello Everyone! (Sunday, April 26)
Sometimes, we can get overwhelmed and see only the difficult things. Today I am suggesting we start looking at the good things we can be thankful for.

What if we start a dinner time practice of sharing 3 goods and one bad? Each person shares 3 good things and one bad. Sometimes, children might need help to see what is good (and sometimes adults do too) – that’s okay, this isn’t a test! However it is important for the person to actually say the good things themselves. This can also lead to a family prayer, thanking God for all the good things named and asking for help with the bad things.

God’s people have often had difficult times… Remember the Exile? Today I am attaching another message about how to talk about the difficulties some of us are having with this pandemic.
God is good! Thanks be to God!

Helping children and teens cope with stressful public events – Caring for Kids

Hello Everyone, Christ is Risen Indeed!

Today I am showing you a prayer idea – praying in colour! I am showing you how to do it here. Check it out here. Here are some instructions and some the image templates you see me using in the video.

Instructions for Praying in Colour
vine and branches colouring
Hearts and Stripes Template (1) (3)


Looking for ways to talk to your kids about Covid-19? Here’s a resource from AHS (please link covid -19 info for kids)
AHS covid-19-information-for-kids

I love the Easter morning greeting of The Lord is Risen! The Lord is Risen indeed! I hope that you will shout with joy in our risen Lord as you worship on Sunday morning. Here are some resources that may be helpful:

Sunrise service at home Here is a brief service to celebrate the resurrection at home this Easter morning. This is suitable or adaptable for all ages. Easter Sunrisel Liturgy

Easter Eggs
Many neighbourhoods are having modified Easter egg hunts as a way to build community while taking care of each other by staying physically distant. People decorate pictures of Easter eggs and put them in the window, then take a walk around your neighbourhood and see how many eggs you can find. Why not get this started in your neighbourhood? If you want to get really fancy, this sheet tells the meanings of the colours and symbols used in decorating eggs. Easter egg template and meaning

This resource was designed to answer kid’s questions about Covid-19 in a non threatening way. coronavirus-for-kids-together

Hello Children and Families!

Maundy Thursday It might be fun to bake bread together to remember Jesus’ Last Supper tonight! Here is a recipe for unleavened bread. While you make it, you could share the story found in Exodus of when God led the people out of slavery in Egypt and they had to leave so quickly they did not have time for bread to rise. Soft_Unleavened_Bread_Southern_Plate

Hello Children!

Pastor Eileen is on TV!! (Not quite, but she has made you some “Godly Play” story videos!!) To see them, have your parents or guardians use the Contact tab to ask to be added to the weekly email list for childrens’ materials. Then you can see Pastor Eileen tell you the whole story of the Faces of Easter. We will go from the birth of Jesus, through his life, death and resurrection. In each one, and you are encouraged to find items at home to help to tell the story.

Hello Parents!
o Talking to your children about Covid-19: This article has some good tips for talking to kids of all ages. www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/parenting/coronavirus-k…
o The health updates from Dr. Deena Hinshaw can be helpful for older kids, either the portions of the video where she is speaking, or reading the transcripts together. For kids who do better with concrete information, this is a good source.
o Breath Prayers: This might be a great time to teach and learn breath prayers. I know that my child has had lots of questions and some increased anxiety—breath prayers are a great way to help quiet some of that anxiety and connect with God. Here is a link that might be helpful if this is something you would like to explore:
sarahbessey.substack.com/p/breath-prayers-for-anxi…Helping children and teens cope with stressful public events – Caring for Kids