Children’s Writing

 

Hero Biography from “Superhero Training Academy” (2014, copyright Royal Family KIDS)

Wilma Rudolph was four years old when her legs stopped working. She had a disease called polio that twisted her left leg and foot. She couldn’t run around with her brothers and sisters; she had to wear leg braces and special shoes.  The doctor told her she would never walk again.  But Wilma didn’t believe him.

Her mom told her to trust in God and never give up hope. So Wilma prayed for strength, and she went to the hospital for treatments. As her legs grew stronger, she practiced running around a track. She trained hard. By the time she was in high school, Wilma was a track star!

In 1960, Wilma Rudolph was invited to compete at the Olympic Games in Rome. She sprinted to glory on that track, becoming the first American woman to win gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter relay.

When she got home from Italy, she asked God, “what do you want me to do now? What is my purpose? Was it just to win three gold medals?”   Suddenly, she got a great idea. She could help children make their biggest dreams come true.  She founded the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to teach kids about discipline and hard work.

When Wilma was a little girl, she was afraid that she would never run again. She was afraid that people would call her mean names. But when she grew up, she ran at the Olympics. And they called her the Black Gazelle. They called her the fastest woman in the world!

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PUPPET PLAY: YEAR 2, MONTH 6 (2009, copyright Royal Family KIDS)

The Super Duper Deluxe Shield of Faith

  (The Bible is on the stage, and it is open to Ephesians 6:10-19. Boy puppet sits stage left, staring intently at the Bible.  He moves his head down the page, shakes his head, and starts all over again.)

BLAKE            Huh?  I don’t get it.  I just don’t get it.

                                    (Man puppet enters stage right.)

JEREMY            Hey, Blake.  What’s up?

BLAKE            (startled) Oh. Hi, Jeremy.  I was just reading my Bible, but it says something I don’t understand.

 JEREMY            Oh, well maybe I can help.

BLAKE            OK.  I was trying to figure out what FAITH is.

JEREMY            I see.

BLAKE            Because, I mean, what IS faith? Some people say that it’s, like, being loyal.  Which is OK, I guess.  And then some people say it means believing in God and stuff.

JEREMY            So you decided to look it up in the Bible.

BLAKE            Yeah.  But it’s confusing! It says over here that faith is a SHIELD.  There’s even something about flaming arrows!

JEREMY            “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”  Ephesians 6:16

 (BLAKE does a double and triple take, looking back and forth from JEREMY to the Bible.)

BLAKE            Dude!  You know that by heart?

JEREMY            Yeah. I really like that verse.  It’s one of my favorites.

BLAKE            So what does it mean?

JEREMY            Well, it’s about the armor of God.

BLAKE            I didn’t even know God had armor.  Is this like Gladiator?

JEREMY            Sort of. 

BLAKE            And how do I get this armor?

JEREMY            You might be wearing it right now. 

BLAKE            (looking down at his clothes) Oh my gosh! Where?

JEREMY            Well, this is armor that you don’t actually see.

BLAKE            Oh. (very disappointed) So it’s not REAL.

JEREMY            It’s real! In fact, it’s better than a shield made out of wood or steel.  Because this shield can’t get broken.

BLAKE            Well, then I don’t have it.  Because I got into a fight on the playground yesterday. This guy, Tommy, was making fun of me for reading my Bible, and then he punched me in the nose!  And if I’d had a SHIELD, then my nose wouldn’t hurt so much right now!

JEREMY            Yeah, this shield might not help you in a fistfight.  But it is definitely going to help you when Tommy makes fun of you.

BLAKE            Really? 

JEREMY            Sure.  A lot of times, people try to make you think you’re weird or crazy.  Even when you know you’re doing the right thing.

BLAKE            I know! That happens to me a lot.

JEREMY            It happens to me, sometimes, too.  But this shield reminds us that God is with us. He protects us.  He gives us strength. It’s like wearing a suit of armor. 

BLAKE            So it’s a whole suit of armor?  Like a knight would wear? 

JEREMY            Yeah! (looking at the Bible) You get – let’s see here… if you decide to put on the armor of God, you get a belt of truth—

BLAKE            Ooh!            (BLAKE looks at his waist with surprise)

JEREMY            And a helmet of salvation.

BLAKE            Ahh! (BLAKE touches his head with pride.)

JEREMY            Plus a breastplate of righteousness and, of course, the SWORD of the Spirit!

BLAKE            Aw, yeah. That’s what I’m talkin’ about. (Blake dances back and forth on the stage, as if he’s going to thrust a sword.)

JEREMY                        And the shield!  The shield is awesome, man.  It’s the 100% guarantee, state of the art, top of the line, kitted out, powered                                   up, super duper deluxe shield of FAITH!!!

 BLAKE                        Cool!!!  (Pause.)  So, um, what does it DO?

JEREMY                        When Tommy is making fun of you for reading your Bible,  imagine that his words are flaming arrows. But no matter what he says, you’re safe. Because NOTHING can penetrate your  shield of faith.  You can stand strong and courageous, like a warrior.  Tommy’s words can’t hurt you because you trust in  God.

BLAKE                        Awesome. And I can take the shield with me everywhere?

JEREMY                        That’s right. So what do you think? Will you be using your                                                 super duper deluxe shield of FAITH?

 BLAKE                        I’ll be using it every single day.   I LOVE  wearing my suit of   armor.  Just call me Sir Blake!

 JEREMY                        Yes, my liege! And now, Sir Blake, it’s time for the Bible Story.

 (Puppets exit stage right.)

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Bible Skit: Year 1, Month 9  (2012, copyright Royal Family KIDS)

Holding Onto Hope                  [Exodus 1: 8-22; 2:1-10]

Materials Needed:

• 1 Egyptian head-dress (staple a yard of gold lamé or even a sheet of tin foil to a wide headband)
• 2 scarves
• 1 basket
• 1 baby doll
• 1 baby blanket
• 1 small inflatable swimming pool
• 1 tiara
• 1 bath towel

Before the story begins, place the inflatable swimming pool at the front of the room. Do not fill the pool to capacity.  There should be just enough water so that the basket can float.  Place the bath towel on the floor next to the pool.     

 Today, we are going to talk about Moses.  How many of you have heard of Moses?

 Let the kids respond.

 That’s right! Moses was very special. When he was a grown-up, he led his people into the Promised Land. But today’s story is about when Moses was just a baby.

At that time, the Israelites were living in Egypt.  And the most powerful person in Egypt was the Pharaoh.

Invite a club kid to be the pharaoh.  Place the Egyptian headdress on his head.

One day, the Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us.” Exodus 1: 9-10

Have the Pharaoh cross his arms over his chest.

 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They forced them to make bricks and to build buildings. They forced them to build entire cities!  The Egyptians were very cruel to their slaves. But no matter what they did, they could not stop the Israelites from having families.  The people of Israel continued to have many strong children.  Exodus 1:11-14

Pharaoh was frightened that these Israelite children would grow up and rebel against him.  So he gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”  Exodus 1: 22

Let Pharaoh sit down.  He can keep wearing his head-dress if it’s not too distracting.

 At about this time, an Israelite woman named Jochebed  [JOCK-uh-bed] became pregnant and gave birth to a son.  Exodus 2:1

Have a female club kid come to the front.  Drape a scarf over her head and give her the baby doll to hold.

When Jochebed saw that she had a healthy baby boy, she was terrified that he would be killed.  So she kept the baby hidden for three months!  Exodus 2:2

But Jochebed knew that she could not hide him forever.  So she got a basket made of reeds and waterproofed it with tar. Then she put her little baby in the basket. Exodus 2:3

Give Jochebed the basket and the baby blanket.  Tell her to settle the baby in the basket and put the basket in the pool.  Then have Jochebed stand off to the side, far from the pool.

 Jochebed put the basket in the Nile River, but she laid it among the reeds so that it would not float away too quickly. She wanted her baby to live; she was hoping for a miracle.

Jochebed also had a daughter named Miriam.  When Jochebed put the basket into the river, Miriam watched carefully from the riverbank to see what would happen to her baby brother.  Exodus 2:4

Ask another club kid to be Miriam.  Tie the second scarf around her waist.  Tell Miriam to crouch down behind the pool and watch the basket.

But Pharaoh also had a daughter!  She was the princess of Egypt. 

Invite a club kid to play the role of the princess.  Place the tiara on her head.

While Miriam watched from the riverbank, Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to have her bath.  Suddenly, the princess noticed a basket among the reeds!

 Have Pharaoh’s daughter take off her socks and shoes. Tell her to step into the pool and take the baby out of the basket.

 When the princess opened the basket, she found the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.   Exodus 2: 5-6

Have Pharaoh’s daughter step out of the pool and dry her feet on the towel.

Then Miriam came up to the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.  Exodus 2: 7

“Yes,” replied the princess. So Miriam went and got her mother Jochebed.

Have Miriam take Jochebed by the hand and lead her to the princess.

 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So Jochebed took her baby home and nursed him.

Tell the princess to give Jochebed the doll.  Have Jochebed hug the baby and then give him back to the princess.

“Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named the baby Moses, which means, “lifted out of the water.” Exodus 2:8-10

Moses was a very lucky little boy.  He had a wonderful birth mom, a terrific sister, and a loving foster mom who then adopted him!  These three women never stopped hoping that Moses would have a good life.

And God had a very special plan for Moses’ life.  He grew up to be the leader of Israel. He freed the Israelites from slavery and he led them to the Promised Land!