One of our school-age staff was asking about Advent resources for the big kids, and I remembered reading about Illustrated Children’s Ministry. It’s a website where you can order giant posters to color for a lot of money. ($80) They say they are great for inter-generational activities – you can set one in the narthex with markers or colored pencils and the whole congregation can make it lovely while getting to know each other.
They also have more affordable options. You can pay $50 to get a digital file and print your own big banners, or pay $5 – $15 for digital files to print small copies. I went ahead and bought one of the banners and also a set of ornaments. I have cardstock and also a pack of ‘tabloid’ paper (11 X 17), so I printed some for the big kids and some for my own class.
The really nice thing about the banner files is that they send you two copies of each design you buy: a complicated coloring page for older people and a simplified version for my little guys. Even so, some of us are not careful. (I’m looking at you, Louis.) I’m all for coloring as you like, but for this project you had to show that you could color slowly and carefully (not Louis), fill one space with one color (not Louis) and that the next space needed to be a different color. (Louis! What are you doing!?) (Louis’ reply: I’m not scribbling! Scribbling goes round and round!)
Ugh. Scribbling also goes side to side, Louis.
Despite Louis and his Jackson Pollock tendencies, it will be lovely when it’s done.
Next: Mary’s Song!!