While there are many sites that can be helpful, it’s nice to have children’s ministry sites created by people who totally understand our joys and challenges in ministry. The following are our favorites.
With a subscription to Children’s Ministry Magazine, you can access back issues of the magazine by topic—10 years’ worth. For example, if you’ve just gotten a call on Saturday night from someone who needs a substitute the following morning and you can’t pick up the curriculum guide (but that never happens in your church...), you can ask the teacher for the topic of the lesson or the Scripture passage, type it into the search box in the magazine archives, and come up with every related idea Children’s Ministry Magazine has ever printed. The topic Moses alone yields 44 ideas! You can rely on this site most for ministry-related needs, and you can also get information on special training events such as Children’s Ministry Magazine Live Workshops here.
The site, Children's Ministry, has the most links (referrals to other sites) for children’s ministry. It’s divided into four sections: Outlet Mall (links to products), The Online School (links to training articles), The Network (links to various fellowships and organizations), and E-Sources (links to a variety of sites that relate to all aspects of children’s ministry).
Current Research
The Internet is full of day-to-day news sources, but the following sites will keep you current with information that’s particularly relevant to children’s issues.
To learn about playthings for children and to access a generous dose of articles and activities, check out this site: Smarter Kids. It’s an online store, but the categories and reviews are particularly helpful when you’re furnishing a nursery or trying to understand the latest toy craze.
This site: Dr. Toy, is a little less commercial than Smarter Kids. It’s rich with information about toy recommendations and tips for age- appropriate toy purchasing.
To be armed with information about the latest movie or video releases or to find a movie to illustrate an important part of your children’s message, surf here: Hollywood Jesus. For almost any current movie, you’ll get the studio synopsis, trailers, clips, an interpretation of the spiritual significance of the film, and a bulletin board of opinions. You’ll also find secular music reviews. The site host has a definite point of view, which you may or may not agree with, but for familiarizing yourself with the movies kids are talking about without actually having to sit through them, this site is unbeatable.
For summaries of what the media are saying about children and families, do a search at Current Thoughts and Trends online. The print version of Current Thoughts and Trends provides summaries of articles from hundreds of magazines, newspapers, book reviews, and Web sites each month.
If you’re interested in the latest research about how children think and learn, get plugged in to the site: Brain Connection. Information here fills me with wonder at the amazing way in which God designed our brains! Plus, you’ll find tons of educational resources.
Lesson Elements
If you need projects to extend lessons or build special events, these sites are dedicated to crafts, games, science experiments, and various lesson elements you can use.
For a variety of arts and crafts projects for children preschool through 12th grade, scroll through the topics listed on the purple bar at the left of the home page for Kinder Art. This site has everything from architecture to folk art to art recipes.
For projects using the easiest-to-find art supplies - CRAYOLA, click on the Inspiring Ideas crayon or the Educators section. Once you’re into the site, you can narrow your search by specifying the type of project, theme, or medium you want to use.
Making Friends allows kids to print instructions for these projects that were designed primarily for scouting groups. This site contains a Bible Crafts section with projects such as Bible Friends that are paper dolls with biblical costumes. There are ads for low-cost craft supplies from their store, but you’ll find lots of projects kids can do without purchasing a single thing (or by using craft supplies you have on hand). Scroll to the bottom of the home page to sort crafts by type, material, or theme.
Fun Craft Recipes has lots of recipes for clays, goops, and paints that are especially great for preschoolers. Although personal Web pages tend to come and go rather quickly, this page is well-maintained. You can also get great art ideas by clicking on the internal links to art and holiday activities at the bottom of the page.
Games Kids Play has classic games and their rules. Games are partially indexed and cross-referenced by aliases, but don’t miss the unindexed games if you have time to look through them.
At Game Kids you can find games, theme party ideas, and activities submitted by kids. Because this site is written and created by kids, the games are sure to be winners.
Game Central Station is designed for physical education teachers, this site has lots of games you’ll remember from your youth plus helpful tips on management from seasoned pros and quick references for popular sports.
For easy activities designed for kids to do by themselves, check out the pages of the PBS ZOOM site. Click on the site map and search. The map is a little visually overwhelming, but don’t miss ZOOMsci (experiments), ZOOMdo (crafts), ZOOMgames (physical and brain games), CafeZOOM (easy recipes), ZOOMparty (party themes), ZOOMphenoms (activities with a “wow” factor), and Playhouse (quick skits). Lots of kids have seen the activities from this site in the PBS television show ZOOM.
The Idea Box is a very well indexed activity site with hundreds of games, songs, crafts, and recipes for younger children.
At the Early Childhood site, along with frequently updated ideas to use with kids, you’ll find choice articles for professional development and lots of “ask the expert” advice useful for teachers and parents who work with young children.
A to Z Teacher Stuff is another easily searched forum for people who work with young children. Find lesson plans, articles, tips, and links.
Literally thousands of things to do with kids are indexed at Family Fun. This site archives articles and ideas from 10 years of Family Fun magazine. Search for activities, crafts, games, recipes, party plans, and more.
Top 100 Family Sites is a registry of a variety of sites related to child and family issues. Because this is a voter-rated list, the sites change from time to time, so it’s a good starting place when you want to find out what’s new
