Introduction

God’s Word provides us with all we need to know about living a godly, Christ–like life in today’s ever–changing world. This program reminds the women of some of their first days of school and teaches some of the basic but vital rules of living necessary for Christian women.

Decorations

Set up the room to resemble a classroom. Cover the tables in yellow or black cloths to match pencils and chalkboards. Use a small stack of notebooks, pencils and school supplies, topped with an apple, as centerpieces. Hang small paper airplanes made from notebook paper from the ceiling. Prepare place cards with the words “back to school blessings” and place on the tables. There are examples of these on Pinterest.

Refreshments

Set out small bowls or pails filled with child friendly snacks, such as gummy worms (bookworms), Smarties (smarty pants), cookies (one smart cookie), apple slices (apple for the teacher). Make signs with the names of the goodies written in chalk on small blackboards.

Program Ideas

Craft – Back to School Blessings

Invite the women to create a theme Scripture verse to give to their children or grandchildren as they return to school. Print the verses on cardstock, which the women can embellish with colored pens, jewels and stickers. The verses can be placed in small inexpensive frames. Some suggested verses are: Philippians 4:13, Ephesians 5:1, 2 Timothy 2:24, Proverbs 13:20, Psalms 121:1, 2.

Games

What’s for Breakfast?

Cut the front of cereal boxes into 12 to15 pieces each and place in small baggies. The women must match up the pieces to recreate the cover.

History Lesson

Print pictures of historical figures on cardstock—presidents, civil rights figures, war heroes. On separate sheets list a time or place in history associated with the figures. For example: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Working in teams, invite the women to match the figure and event.

The Librarian

In this game, the women compete in teams to stack 30 books in alphabetical order. They must work quietly because the librarian will disqualify them if she hears any noise.

Paper Plane Pileup

Divide the women into 3 or 4 teams and give them a small stack of notebook paper. They must work as a team to make paper airplanes and fly them into a basket. The team with the most airplanes in the basket wins.

Talking Old School

This game will give the women a chance to reminisce and share stories of their school days. Prepare a list of school related questions. For example: Who was your favorite teacher? Share a favorite first day of school memory. What were your favorite subjects and least favorite subjects? What did you want to be when you grew up? As in musical chairs, pass the basket and when the music stops, the woman holding it selects a question. After answering, questions should be returned to the basket. If desired, she can drop out of the game.

Vital Rules for a Godly Life

Read Proverbs 4

The Bible gives us all the rules we need to follow to live a Christian life. In Proverbs 4 we see a list of these rules that guide us in the right direction. Just like on the first day of school when we are given new rules to follow, it can be a bit overwhelming to remember them and understand exactly how these rules apply to our lives. However, it can be beneficial to consider these verses as helpful guidance tools instead of a list of do’s and don’ts.

The writer of Proverbs 4 begins the passage by saying that he too was once a young boy in his father’s house. He is speaking from experience. So often we like to tell the younger generation the way things were and how they should be today. These wise words become much more useful when we can say that we’ve been there, that we have experienced the same firsts, hardships and victories that children today still face in school. This passage can be seen as a parent’s encouraging speech before they send their child off for the first day of school, but it can also apply to our lives today.

Some of the instructions given in Proverbs 4 are: pay attention (v.1), follow the rules (v. 4), be smart and make wise decisions (v. 5), do what is right (v. 14), listen carefully (v. 20), guard your heart (v. 23) and stay focused (v. 25). From these verses we can create our own list of rules to live by daily, ensuring that we are walking a straight path towards God’s will for our lives. As children are heading back to school and adjusting to new people and environments, may we remember the simple instructions that God has given us in His word. Let’s apply these words of encouragement to our own lives and share with others who may be facing challenges.

Pray together as a group for children who are going back to school. Challenge the women to find ways to encourage them over the next couple weeks.