Pentecost

Here in the United States, Pentecost falls smack dab in the middle of Memorial Day weekend (can we saw loooooow Sunday?). We'll be spreading our celebration out over two Sundays.

This week, the children that attend Sunday School will be making Papier Mache pinatas. This is a great project for a mixed age group (we'll have kids from 3 years to 12 in the same group), as well as a crowd pleaser. Nothing says good time like a disgusting mess.

Inflated balloons will be suspended from the ceiling, down to an easy-to-reach height for the kids. Newspaper will be spread on the floor and small containers of water and glue will be next to each workstation. The kids will dip strips of newspaper into the glue/water mixture and slap them on the balloon. When the balloons are all covered, they'll slap pieces of red, orange, and yellow tissue paper all over the balloon. (Red, yellow, and orange will symbolize the flames.)

The celebration on the next Sunday will consist of several stations, all of which relate to the wind, different languages, and gifts of the Spirit.

1. The pinatas, which will be stuffed with Fruits of the Spirit stickers and small candies, will be taken outside for whacking.
2. Inside will be a table spread with different breads from around the world, to symbolize the different languages that were spoken on the first Pentecost.
3. Cake decorating will be done on individual cupcakes (what's a birthday party without cake?). Each child will spread white icing onto their cupcake, place a white candle in the middle, and decorate with red, orange, and yellow sprinkles.
4. Wind catchers will be made out of simple crepe paper and other recycled items.

All of the centers will be visited after the Pentecost story is told. The children will be told to be on the lookout for how the activities relate to wind, fire, and different languages. They will be given scrap paper to write down any notes and those with correct responses receive a prize at the end of the session. (I recommend that only one correct answer is required for a prize.)

All of these activities help children learn about an important church holiday in a setting with which they are already familiar- a birthday party!