Ideas & Resources

Movie

Madame Blueberry (Veggie Tales)

A parable about a blueberry who couldn't buy enough "stuff" to satisfy her hunger.  (Ages 5-11.)

For video, we used Veggie Tales "Madame Blueberry" drawing a parallel between the girl who sang "that's why I give thanks everyday" with the widow.

Computer

2020 Update: Neil has donated several of his Sunday Software programs to be downloaded free-of-charge by our supporting members. They include Awesome Bible Stories and Cal and Marty's Scripture Memory Game, as well, Sonsoft donated Fall of Jericho, all listed below.  Learn more and get the software.

Awesome Bible Stories

For computer, we basically ditched the widow's story, used the Parable of the Talents section from Awesome Bible Stories (Sunday Software) and tied it all to the extravagant generosity theme of our concurrent stewardship campaign.

Other Software suggestions.

Preschool to 2nd Grade:

• Play and Learn Children's Bible (out of print, but left here for the many rotation churches who have it) covers "A Woman's Big Little Gift" but that program is designed for pre-schoolers so for kids much above 2nd grade it's probably not going to fly. One way around that (sometimes) is to ask them to pretend they are teachers for the little kids and give them the program as a resource. They can figure out how to use it to teach the little kids.

3rd Grade & Up

• Fall of Jericho quiz game maker....write your own questions. Q&A about what the Bible says about money in general and tie that into what the woman is doing.
• Cal & Marty's Scripture Memory Game - You could use to work on a key passage.
• Kid Pix 4 or the newer "3D" version or other illustration programs can work. If you have a digital camera, take pictures of the kids dressed up like the woman putting in her coin, then have them write what they were thinking beside their picture. (Would work better if you could take most of the pictures a week ahead).

Lesson Ideas from Lisa

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Movie Ideas

• Storytellers Collection Vol. 3, Zondervan, 0025986705930.
  (3 In 1 Episodes/30 mins. ea./animated) – Captured; Trapped; & Roar in the Night.
  Roar in the night intertwines throughtout it's main story the 3 bible stories of the Lost Sheep, Jesus Heals the Dumb Man, & the Widow’s Mite. Apparently if you have the curriculum book for this series it covers mainly the Lost Sheep, but one of the characters in the movie tells the story of the widow's mite linking to the characters lives. In the episodes I've seen they also take you back to bible times and you see the bible story happen.
  
  
• Jesus (Gospel of Luke) starring Brain Deacon, Inspirational Films, 2001, 880499000098. Story can be found in – Chapter 22 or Event 46.
  
  
  

Website with Resource Links

• The following website has lots of links to material on the widow’s mite – storytelling under children’s sermons – movie clip ideas, etc.
  Text Week Website

Music- Song

"Happy Little Gift"

We are doing the Widow's offering this month, and I found a great song that goes with it called "Happy Little Gift", from the seeds of faith. I am looking forward to having the kids learn it!

Widow's Coin Comparison Art Projects

Ideas for hallway display for stewardship time:

Display Idea 1.   Which is the bigger gift?
Two life size cut-out figures each carrying a "clear" bag of money and EACH reaching a coin into an offering plate.  The widow's bag has no coins in it. The other's clear bag is full of coins (but she is only putting one coin in the plate). 

To make the two people: Have two kids lie down on cardboard, trace, and cut out. Then "dress" with cloth/clothing pinned to the cardboard. 

Scripture: The Mite 

Display Idea 2.  Which Giver is More Pleasing to God?
Kids cut-out and design two very large yellow "smiley faces."

One is smiling, the other is frowning.

Both have an arm extended over an offering plate and holding a $100 bill.

Scripture: cheerful giver 

Display Idea 3.  What's the Right Way to Give?
Kids cut-out two givers on cardboard and dress (see notes above)

One giver is holding up a glittering wad of cash, and cash is coming out of their pockets.

The other giver is quietly giving a bulging envelope (can't see the cash inside) to a small figure at their side, while looking the other direction (giving in quiet).

Scripture: giving in secret

In Rotation, you could assign one display to 3 different Art Workshop classes, so that at the end of the Rotation you had 3 different displays.

More Movie Ideas

• Bedbug Bible Gang Series Combo – "Forgiveness, Love and Blessings!"
  (Older animation but great for the little ones.)
  The Widow’s Mite is found in the third menu title - Bunches of Blessings!
  Then Skip Forward Button on your remote once to bypass opening song and first story to get to second story called "The Wee Widow's Mighty Mite!"  (runs from 6:21-11:04 - approx 5:19 mins).  Story followed by on-screen game what item from story doesn't match the other items.
  
  
• "To Have or To Have Not" (Paws & Tales) by Chuck Swindoll (now found on the combo DVD entitled - Vol. #7 "Serving Others" which also includes "And Then There Were None".
  Animated, both stories approx. 25 mins.
  Episode 1: To Have and Give Not
  After finding a treasure of pirate coins, Gooz has to decide the best way to handle her new-found wealth. Meanwhile, Staci and The Club are at odds on how to spend their club dues (Acts 20:35).

Cooking Idea

• Mrs. Mark's Gingersnap Cookies - The Widow's Mite.
  Includes neat story about "a beautiful lady (her client) who gave the very best she had, from her heart."  Includes recipe for the cookies.  Suggest keep them small like the width of a toonie (coin size). http://foodforahungrysoul.blog...-cookies-widows.html
  
  
  

Music Idea

• Music Video "I Can Give" by Mae Klingler of Crossroads -- Middle School Ministry on 04/15/2013 - fun upbeat song!- http://crossroadskidsclub.net/music-video-i-can-give/
  To hear it, download MP3 or Sheet Music go to this link and using your Edit - Find, type in search "I Can Give" (second one that comes up) you will see them all listed together.

For grades 5 through 12:

Use the short creative and humorous video "God's Pie", created by Worship House Media. The link is to YouTube where the video is free. You can also download the video here for $ (you don't need the extra license as long as you are using it for teaching purposes in your classroom.)

it's about "how much is left over" ...which is the opposite of the Widow's attitude!

See Neil's suggestions here in our Stewardship Forum for having them watch the video then create their own God's Pie video(s).  You could have the Widow come in and try to give the whole pie! 

Or you could have the Widow bake the pie and give it to someone in need or in sorrow.

Spiritually and morally speaking, the Widow's Mite is about her gift to God, not a coin.

Time, Talent, Treasure "Gad-zof-oo-lak'-ee-on" Discussion Game

Share the following in a Bible study about the Widow's Mite (or any Stewardship discussion), then use it to generate the game pieces (papers) and play the game.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminds us that. "There are a variety of gifts...  but it is the same Spirit that gives them." Interestingly, the Greek word Paul uses for "gifts" is "charismo" which is the kind of gift that is an ability. The ability to heal, speak, teach, be patient, do justice, give, etc.    In his other letters, Paul uses the word "doma" to describe money given to him. Doma means "something given," a present, a gift. And elsewhere Paul uses the word "prosphero" which is something akin to an offering in worship, or a sacrifice.

In Mark 12, the widow's mite was a coin "offering" that she and others put into the "treasury" -- a receptacle for money with the odd Greek name of "gad-zof-oo-lak'-ee-on."  Offerings were gifts used to support the Temple and its charities.  The word Mark uses for the coin that Widow contributed is "lepton" -- which is worth less than a penny! The story has Jesus WATCHING what people put in. Rather unnerving to think about, isn't it?   

In Hebrew, Jesus would have called an offering given in worship a "minkah."  In the Temple at the time of Jesus there were thirteen "trumpet shaped" collection boxes that people would throw offerings into. Some of them were for coins, and according to experts, the SOUND the coins would have made going into the trumpet would have told others how much they gave!  (No wonder Jesus taught the lesson of the widow's two coins!  They hardly made a noise in those trumpets. Thank God, Jesus has better hearing.) In Hebrew these trumpets were known as "Yobels."

If you have time in your lesson, stop here and have students "PITCH PENNIES" into a brass or metal bucket. You can have other players turn their back and try to guess how many coins the player tossed. Remember to point out that the number of pennies you gave didn't matter to Jesus, it's how many you had to give that mattered.

Like the New Testament writers, The Church has a lot of different words for the same idea: offering, gift, time, talent, treasure, stewardship, gratitude. All of which means,there are a variety of words for "gifts" but it is the same Spirit who gives them all!

Let's Play!

For this game, you'll set out three treasure chests with th elabels "time, talent, treasure" on them. Cleverly decorated boxes will do. Call them ""gad-zof-oo-lak'-ee-on"  !!

Then pass out three sheets of 8.5z11 copy paper to each student.

1. On the first they must name "a gift of time they can give to do something helpful."
2. On the second they must write "a gift of something I do well that I can share with others."
3. On the second, they must write "a way to earn some money that I can put in the church offering."

Naturally, some discussion will need to take place.

• The teacher should write several of each to add to what the students come up with.
• The teacher should also write "Widow's Two Coins," "Lepton," "Charismo," and "Prophero" on three different sheets of paper.
• Put all the sheets of paper into a basket.

To play the "Gad-zof-oo-lak-ee-on" Game

Arranged the three treasure chests (Gadzofoolakeon) about five feet from a line you've made on the floor. (Adjust the distance depending on age, ability, and size of the treasure box.)

One by one, students step up to the line and draw a piece of paper from the basket. They announce what's on it, then decide WHICH of the three treasure chests it belongs in, "time, talent, or treasure."  Then they crumple the paper up and try to get it into the correct treasure chest. If they miss, give them a second chance. If they miss again, put the crumpled paper ASIDE for the time being, until you've played through all the others pieces of paper. When the basket is empty, have students uncrumple the page, read it again, crumple it back up and toss it into the correct treasure chest.

Adjust distance and other game rules depending on the age of your group, size, ability, and size of treasure chests. Keep score to keep them focused.

Remind them that ACCURACY IN THROWING is only ONE GIFT!  There are many others (like being an encourager). You can even let them stand closer to demonstrate the gift of GRACE.

After playing, uncrumple all the pages and tack them to the "Gad-zof-oo-lak-ee-on" boxes to make a display, or recycle the paper.

More About the Coin Trumpet, Trumpeting Your Giving
and a game about that...

Here's an interesting article about the Temple's "donation trumpet" collection points. Because there is no definitive or single description in scripture of the treasury or the trumpets, most of our information comes from scattered references in the Old Testament and Jewish rabbinic commentaries like the Mishnah.

SOME of the trumpets were for the "temple tax" due from each male Jew. Others were free-will offerings or offerings for forgiveness (sin offerings). (Source)  The point is that there were MANY TYPES of offerings a person could make, which begs the question, how does the church teach and encourage those many types.

A game of "coins in a bucket" (or metal offering plate if you have one) or your own treasury trumpet creation that makes a noise is a good starting point. How then could you do a second round of this game SILENTLY? Or so that only one person (in the role of Jesus) could see? ("He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury." Mark 12:41)

If your church still uses metal offering plates, then I would definitely "borrow" one for this lesson. You might even have a discussion about how to put an offering in it in a "no-showy" way.  Even a wooden offering plate might make a good sound if your coins are big enough. Get yourself some 50 cent or dollar coins to toss.

To demonstrate "silent giving" with a game, after using a noisy bucket or offering plate, you could put a TOWEL in the bucket and have kids first stand over the bucket and drop their coin in silently, and then move back and try again.  Adjust distance and the towel to see how far they can throw it and still remain silent. It will make a great memory hook.

For those making a trumpet-offering box, teaching about it, or playing a game about it, the shape was apparently narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. Whether or not it made a big noise is questionable unless the person made sure their coins hit the metal (bronze). It may be that they were simply "shaped like trumpets." But Jesus and his disciples picked up on this "trumpeting" metaphor more than once. It wasn't just the show of money, it was the show of dress and prayers and penance that was hypocritcal --given how they oppressed the poor, refused to forgive others, and talked down to the sinners.

Matthew 6:

Luke 18:

@Neil MacQueen posted:

In Mark 12, the widow's mite was a coin "offering" that she and others put into the "treasury" -- a receptacle for money with the odd Greek name of "gad-zof-oo-lak'-ee-on."  Offerings were gifts used to support the Temple and its charities.  The word Mark uses for the coin that Widow contributed is "lepton" -- which is worth less than a penny! The story has Jesus WATCHING what people put in. Rather unnerving to think about, isn't it?   

In Hebrew, Jesus would have called an offering given in worship a "minkah."  In the Temple at the time of Jesus there were thirteen "trumpet shaped" collection boxes that people would throw offerings into. Some of them were for coins, and according to experts, the SOUND the coins would have made going into the trumpet would have told others how much they gave!  (No wonder Jesus taught the lesson of the widow's two coins!  They hardly made a noise in those trumpets. Thank God, Jesus has better hearing.) In Hebrew these trumpets were known as "Yobels."

If you have time in your lesson, stop here and have students "PITCH PENNIES" into a brass or metal bucket. You can have other players turn their back and try to guess how many coins the player tossed. Remember to point out that the number of pennies you gave didn't matter to Jesus, it's how many you had to give that mattered.

Here's a very good visual explanation and recreation of the Widow's Mite and the trumpet-shaped Temple treasury boxes. https://youtu.be/FQzQ9YfONAE?si=-XG4Y9piEfixVwJS

Superbook now has a video titled "The Widow's Mite"  See clip here The full episode can be purchased on ebay or by joining the Superbook  club.

Moderator updated to add publisher description below.

The Widow's Mite

Episode: 516

Season: 5

Chris has been saving his allowance and lawn mowing money to purchase an expensive new telescope. Meanwhile, the church youth group is involved with a food drive. Chris becomes conflicted about donating money to support the food drive or sticking with his plan of buying the telescope.

Superbook arrives to take Chris, Joy and Gizmo to the Jerusalem Temple. There they meet up with Jesus' disciples while He is teaching. As they watch, a widow makes a donation into the temple treasury. She gives only two mites, but it is all she has to live on. Jesus comments that the poor woman gave more than the other wealthy contributors who gave only a tiny part of their surplus. This causes Chris to rethink his attitude about tithing to his church.

Once home, Chris wrestles with his decision, but finally comes to a place where, like the widow, he gladly donates all his money to the church mission. Mark 12:41-44