Create A Rhythm – Fun Family Time
(This post was written by Gina McClain, Director of Children’s Ministries)
Most families have Christmas traditions. Anything from decorating the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, making the gingerbread house to the annual Christmas Eve car ride to look at Christmas lights. Traditions add a richness to the holidays.
This year the McClain clan added a new holiday tradition. As part of the Advent activities, week 2 included a melodrama. In my experience in kids ministry, I’ve done melodrama’s in the past. It’s been a number of years since I’ve done them but Kandice Baker reminded recently of just how much fun they are.
Kids love melodramas. They love over-acting. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to get them to keep from over-dramatizing. Tonight my family acted out the story of Jesus’ birth. Here was the line up:
Narrator = Me
Angel = Dad
Mary = Josie (8)
Joseph = Connor (5)
Innkeeper = Dad
Donkey = Keegan (11)
Baby Jesus = Maggie the Pillow Pet
Given that Connor is 5, we were creative with his role. We negotiated that if pregnant Mary could ride the donkey to Bethlehem, then he could ride the donkey back. Joseph was okay with that. Because Joseph might struggle standing still then we agreed that every time Joseph heard his name he would bow.
And the acting begins…
As I (the narrator) read the story from the Jesus Storybook Bible, I fed each actor their lines. Josie is incredibly dramatic so she had no problem getting into her role. I think the most amusing part is watching her ‘give birth’ to baby Jesus. You see, Baby Jesus (aka Maggie the Pillow Pet) was stuffed under her shirt acting as her ‘pregnant belly’. We’re going for realism here.
It was definitely a fun evening and an activity we’re sure to do again. This will be a staple in our annual Christmas festivities but I think we’ll see this more often throughout the year. We’re already in the rhythm of Family Night once a week. This is a great way to incorporate Bible time into our evening.
Remember parents… we want to make sure that the rhythms of our home reflect the things that we value. Create a Rhythm is all about increasing the quantity of your quality time. What new activities will you incorporate to accomplish this?
