Crafting with kids is a blast!

Jul 13, 2023

Aug 4, 2023

Darby Hinkley

Glitter and glow beads and scissors, oh my!

This week, I was the craft lady at Vacation Bible School at Living Hope Church in Alpena. With the help of my friend Sharon, we guided little hands, helping children make crafts with a space theme.

On Monday evening, we made paper plate half-moons with hanging wooden stars. Glitter was involved, much to the children’s delight (and probably to Mom and Dad’s dismay). By the time we were finished, I had glitter all over my arms and in my hair, and a great big smile on my face. The kids had a blast, and the best part was that each piece of artwork was totally different. They were able to let their imaginations shine!

On Tuesday, we all drew pictures of our own faces (mine looked like a creep) and glued glow-in-the-dark pony beads around the outlines of the faces to create a constellation. Some were more abstract than others, but again, all of them were unique and different. That’s what I love about art. It lets each child create whatever comes to their minds, and they have such fun doing it.

Wednesday was wooden glitter crosses, which wasn’t exactly space-themed, but we had to get Jesus in there somewhere, right? So, some of the children used markers to write “JESUS” on their crosses, others just glittered them up (Sorry, Mom and Dad), and one boy wrote “banana” on his. I have no idea why, but kids will be kids, and if he’s all about bananas, so be it.

Thursday was the big one: Toilet paper tube rockets. Church members had been donating cardboard toilet paper tubes for weeks for this project. I looked up a template online, and it’s kind of involved with a lot of cutting out the construction paper beforehand, but once you get the supplies ready, it’s blast off time!

Tonight is family night at VBS, so the craft station is closed, but the fun continues as families come to celebrate all the scriptures learned, see all the space-themed decorations, and share a meal at the church.

Working with children is always a blessing because they are so sweet and impressionable. We must take special care with these young ones and appreciate their innocence. We must guide them on the right path, teaching them to abide by the golden rule, and we must lead by example.

When I teach children’s church, I pray that God will give me the right words to say. I make sure I’m in the right frame of mind. We need to be our best for our children. Not just our own children, but for all children. They are looking up to us. They are watching and listening. We must consider our words. We must consider our actions. We must pray for patience, kindness, and guidance.

I joined Kiwanis Club of Alpena for several reasons, one of them being that the Kiwanis motto is “Serving the Children of the World.” If you want to change the world, you have to start with the youth. We really have to invest in their lives to help foster a better future.

We need to care about each child as a whole person, and not shrug them off as “too young” or “just a child.” Children have great ideas, and they tend to be honest. They don’t even know how to sugarcoat the truth yet, thank God. It’s refreshing to talk to a child, and really listen to what they have to say. You may surprise yourself, and actually learn something.

Darby Hinkley can be found coating toilet paper tubes with glitter for no apparent reason, but it could be to avoid doing the dishes and/or laundry. Reach her at [email protected] or 989-358-5691.

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