Children aged 8 to 11 like to have fun! They like to be with their friends and are growing increasingly independent. Most still like the opportunity to play games and to be creative, but they will shy away from anything that feels too babyish. Their capacity to learn is enormous and most can read quite well. Feed their imaginations with Xstream and allow them space to ask the questions about the things that younger children take for granted. Xstream encourages 8 to 11s to live their daily lives for God.
Order Xstream
To order Xstream, visit the Light shop or call our Mail Order department on 0845 07 06 006. Xstream and the other products in the Light range are also available from your local Christian retailer.
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If you were looking for the free accompanying web resources to enhance your Xstream session, please visit the Web Resources / Downloads page.
Coming up in Xstream
December 2011 - Good and faithful God
Most of the stories in this series will be very familiar to 8 to 11s. Even those who have not been involved in church will know the basics of the Christmas story featured here. This gives us freedom to have fun exploring the stories in new creative ways, while also taking the children deeper into the stories to discover more about God and his purposes for his people.
This time of year is also a great time to get the children to read the stories for themselves in the Bible. As they do so, they will discover what is in there and what isn’t – there’s no donkey, stable or kings. But they will read about lots of people who see angels and hear messages from God.
Throughout the series encourage our 8 to 11s to think about the story from the point of view of some of the characters in it. Mary trusted God completely, even though she was probably only 14 years old – not that much older than the children in your group. Joseph obeyed God, even though it would not have been easy.
Help them to discover some of the promises that God made to these people and that he always kept those promises. Pray that they will understand that they too can trust our faithful, promise-keeping God in all things – whether large, or small.
The final session is designed for ages 3–11. If you are meeting on Christmas Day, celebrate the birth of the promised Saviour together.