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Published weekly by The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory. The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399. ISSN 1363-5662. 3 It’s Cup Final Season and Ed’s Bit
Hey there, readers! We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this issue of Kids Alive! If you would like to get your own copy of Kids Alive! delivered to your home every week, why not ask your parents or carers to take out a subscription* for you? Every week, Kids Alive! includes a cartoon Bible story, a competition, puzzles, jokes, comic strips and topical activities and articles for you to enjoy.
Ask your parents or carers to go to sps-shop.com/kids-alive, call 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email subscriptions@satcol.org to set up a subscription.
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EDITOR Cara Mott
DEPUTY EDITOR AND KA! JAM CO-ORDINATOR Ibukun Baku
Email kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk Post 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ
FOUNDERS Catherine and William Booth
INTERNATIONAL LEADERS General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham
TERRITORIAL LEADERS Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Major Julian Watchorn
Triple Trophy Time
It's Cup Final Season
Picture this – you’ve just spent 90 minutes (or more) running around a pitch. You’re exhausted, but you’re also super excited! All around you, fans of your team are celebrating. You’ve been looking forward to this moment for such a long time. You’ve just won a major sporting tournament and you’re about to lift up the trophy! That’s the exact experience that football players in three different teams will experience over the next week, as the FA Cup, Women’s FA Cup and Scottish Cup come to a close! Today (17 May), Crystal Palace will battle against Manchester City to see which team gets to take home the FA Cup. After the excitement of the FA Cup Final, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t miss the Women’s FA Cup Final tomorrow (18 May). Taking place at the legendary Wembley Stadium, Chelsea will be taking on Manchester United. We can’t wait to see which captain will get to lift the trophy – Millie Bright or Maya Le Tissier!
If that’s not enough football for you, then you’ll be glad to know that next Saturday (24 May) it’s the Scottish Cup Final! Aberdeen and Celtic will both be giving their all to see who comes out on top. By the end of that Saturday, three teams will have won a trophy over the last week. If you’re a fan of watching football, we can’t imagine a more exciting week than that!
You can watch the FA Cup Final today (17 May) at 4.30pm on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, ITV1 and STV. The Women’s FA Cup Final starts tomorrow (18 May) at 1.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Don’t miss the Scottish Cup Final on 24 May at 3pm! You can watch it on BBC One Scotland or BBC iPlayer.
May is full of fab footie finals. As well as the three finals mentioned above, Arsenal are also playing in the Women’s Champions League Final on 24 May.
All of the players playing in these important games have worked hard for many months to get to this point. They’ve had to consistently train hard and persevere even when it’s felt tough.
Being Jesus’ friend means consistently working hard and persevering even when things are tough too. We need to regularly read our Bibles and pray so that we know the way Jesus wants us to live. We also have to keep following and trusting him, even when things are tough. There’s no trophy to lift after all our hard work, but there’s something even better! We’ll know that Jesus is proud of us and that we can live with him for ever. That sounds better than any trophy to me, and I hope it does to you too!
Findlay /Alamy Stockpicture
Love God, Love Others
out your Bible –Ephesians 6:10-18
Bumper Bible Breakdown
Did you know the Bible isn’t one big book? It’s actually 66 books put together to tell one big story of God’s great love. Join us as we look at each Bible book and discover why God made the world, what went wrong and how in the end God saved the world through his son, Jesus.
I Am Against You
Can you remember the name of the city where God sent Jonah? It was called Nineveh, which was the capital city of the Assyrian kingdom! Around 100 years after Jonah visited Nineveh, it had returned to its evil ways. The Assyrians were terrible to the nations that surrounded them, even Judah!
So God sent a message to Nineveh through a prophet called Nahum. God’s message was very clear – he said, ‘I am against you!’ Because of all the evil that the people of Nineveh had done, their city and kingdom would be destroyed!
However, the vision that God gave Nahum wasn’t just about how Nineveh would be destroyed. It also reminded the people of Judah that although God is incredibly powerful, God is also good and just. He cared for the people living in Judah and he cares for you too!
I am against you!
KA! JAM is the coolest Bible activity club around. As a member you’ll go on amazing adventures through the Bible learning about Jesus. Each activity sheet is filled with lots of great stuff about being a Christian. You’ll also receive our mini-mag, Chatterbox which is filled with jokes, games and much more. And to top it off, there are loads of awesome prizes to be won!
To join KA! JAM and complete the Bible activity courses online, go to salvationist.org.uk/kajam.
Or if you would like to receive the postal version, simply fill in the coupon below.
To join KA! JAM just fill in the application form and send it – along with two first-class stamps – to: KA! JAM, 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. Applicants must be between 7 and 17 years old to join.
Name:
Address:
Date of birth:
Postcode:
Boy or girl: Do you attend a church, and if so, which one?
I, (signature)
apply for membership of Kids Alive! Jesus And Me. I understand that joining KA! JAM doesn’t mean I have joined The Salvation Army and that it is not a free subscription to Kids Alive!
PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS.
How do football players stay cool during a game? They stand near the fans!
Why did Cinderella get kicked off the football team?
Crossword Clues
Because she kept running away from the ball! crystal palace referees celtic
by Neil Locker
across:
Crossword Clues
1 Exclamation used to surprise or frighten. 3 Elevator. 6 Ice house. 7 Round roll of bread or a small cake. 8 Writing table. 10 In this place. 12 Almond, for example. 13 A building where people live. 15 Wintry weather. 16 Opposite of in.
down:
1 Constructing. 2 Nocturnal bird. 3 Big cat. 4 Story with a moral. 5 Money earned on a savings account. 9 Smooth shiny fabric. 11 Enjoy a piece of gum. 14 Flying saucer, for example (initials).
Answers on Page 2
Find the Cup Final-related words in the grid
aberdeen chelsea man united scottish cup man city fa cup players trophies champions fans extra time
penalties
Identify the mystery item in the magnifying glass
FOUR FIT
Who’s the best football player on a farm?
Place the four words into the numbered rows so that four new words are formed in the columns
RISE IDLE STEM FEET
I was wondering why the football kept getting bigger and bigger... ...and then it hit me!
Why didn’t the dog want to play football? Because it was a boxer!
Why don’t grasshoppers like to watch football? They prefer cricket!
by Neil Locker
I was born in London in 2001.
I have played for Arsenal and Manchester United, and I currently play for Chelsea. I scored my first senior goal for England against South Korea in the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup. I was also named player of the tournament.
I won Chelsea Women’s Player of the Year in the 2023-24 season. I have an older brother called Reece who also plays for Chelsea and England. Can you guess who I am?
The GOAT! (Greatest of All Time!)
What tea do footballers drink? Penal-tea!
What’s a goalkeeper’s favourite snack? Beans on post!
When is a footballer like a baby? When they dribble!
Feathers McGraw Competition
Who’s your favourite Wallace and Gromit character? We know who’s at the top of our list! He’s a villainous mastermind, he doesn’t say a word and when he wears a red glove on his head, he looks like a chicken! We’re talking about Feathers McGraw, of course! Feathers is a criminal penguin who always brings trouble – and now you can bring home your very own version of him! With the Build Your Own Feathers McGraw kit, all you need to do is slot together parts of cardboard. Then you’ll have your own Feathers McGraw! There’s no glue, no mess and no fuss. You can even make your Feathers model walk by moving a tab on his back. Plus, Feathers comes with a chaos-causing remote-control panel, a red rubber glove hat and – of course – a very large diamond. For your opportunity to win a Build Your Own Feathers McGraw kit, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Remember to put ‘Feathers McGraw Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 13 June when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by filling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: Feathers McGraw Competition, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ.
Name:
Address:
Penguin Chicken Flamingo
WORLD BEE DAY COLOURING
The Kids Alive! team are buzzing with excitement for this Tuesday (20 May), bee-cause it’s World Bee Day! Bees are brilliant insects – they’re top pollinators, which means that they help crops to grow, and they also help to reduce pollution. Plus, bees make honey, which we think is pretty delicious. So to celebrate how fantastic bees are, why not add a splash of colour to the design below? If you’d like to share your artwork with other readers, email your colouring to: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk Make sure you write ‘World Bee Day Colouring’ in the subject box and give us your full name, age and address. Alternatively you can post your colouring to: Your Space, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. One last reminder, if you’re sending by post remember to fill in the details below so we know who you are. We send a gift to everyone whose colouring we publish, so don’t miss out!
Name: Age:
Address:
Postcode:
One of the reasons that museums are so important in a changing world is that they help us to remember the past! Museums can remind us of spectacular things that have happened in history (such as the creation of cars and planes), but they can also help us to remember bad things that have happened. By paying attention to history, we can try to make sure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes that others have made!
Learn From the Past Get Creative
Another reason why museums can help to make this changing world a better place is because they can inspire people to be creative. When you see an incredible piece of artwork from hundreds of years ago, you might find that it inspires you to put your skills to the test too! This can lead to some spectacular creations.
Must-see Museums
If you would like to visit a museum, you could check out…
The Natural History Museum. This museum is found in London and was opened in 1881. Its main aim is to help people to learn about the past by studying nature. If you want to see dinosaur skeletons, then this is a museum you won’t want to miss!
St Fagans National Museum of History. This museum in Cardiff is open-air, which means that there are sections outside! If you visit this museum, you’ll leave it with a new understanding of what it was like to live in Wales in the past.
The National Museum of Scotland. This museum in Edinburgh is all about the history of Scotland and Scottish culture. It has sections about technology, natural history and other cultures from around the world.
Titanic Belfast. This museum in Belfast is about exactly what it sounds like –the Titanic. This museum tracks the story of the Titanic from its creation until it sank on 14 April 1912. It’s a sad story, but one that’s worth knowing!
You can discover museums near you that are putting on special events for International Museum Day by visiting icom.museum/en/news/international-museum-day-2025the-future-of-museums-in-rapidly-changing-communities.
Celebrate International Museum Day by visiting a museum near you!
Cool Colourings
We love colouringsreceiving from our creative readers. Here are some super ones that we wanted to share with you!
Clemmie, Age 6
Age 4
Alice, Age 8
Alfie, Age 11
Little Hiker, Big Impact
This is River, aged 7, standing on Mount Snowdon! Mount Snowdon is Wales’s tallest peak and River climbed to the summit. That’s impressive on its own, but River also raised money for The Salvation Army’s homelessness services. His original target was to raise £50, but he absolutely smashed it by raising £500! River wanted to raise money for The Salvation Army after his school choir sang with a Salvation Army band on Remembrance Day. River didn’t like the thought of people having nowhere to sleep, so that’s why he chose to help people experiencing homelessness.
We hope River’s story has inspired you to become a fundraiser too, because as River said, ‘You don’t have to climb a mountain – bake, bike or swim! Just go for it. You’ll feel happy knowing you’ve helped others’.
For more information about fundraising for The Salvation Army, visit salvationarmy.org.uk/fundraise-us
Pearl, Age 6
Shalom,
H a p p y B i r t h d a y t o y o u !
To see your name and birthday printed in a future issue of KA! email your full name and date of birth to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk
19 May
Ella Parry – age 8 22 May
Amelia-Rose Drake – age 10
Matthew, Age 8
Gabriella
Age? 7.
Favourite colour? Blue.
Favourite food? Carrots, cauliflower and broccoli.
Favourite sport? Hockey.
Favourite bit of Kids Alive! Colouring competition.
G e t I n T o u c h !
The Kids Alive! team loves to hear from its readers. And guess what –other readers love reading your news! So why not get in touch?
You can email or post your own colourings, drawings and letters. Or you could ask your Sunday school, church or corps leaders to email us or write to us with any news about the fun stuff you’ve been doing at your church or corps.
Email: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk
Post: Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ
Favourite Bible story and why?
The Christmas story, because we learn how Jesus was born. Favourite TV programme? Like Nastya.
What do you want to be when you’re older? A vet and a hockey player.
Pets? Coda (dog), Custard (hamster) and lots of fish.
Hobbies? Playing hockey, playing football and swimming.
Tell us a joke. What kind of bird can write? A pen-guin!
What special skill or talent do you have? Cartwheels and handstands.
Tell us something interesting about I have two older sisters –Bella and Juliette.
