Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Undo-It Freeze Tag
Materials: none
Assign one child the role of It and one child the role of Undo-It. Make sure you have a clear space free of tripping hazards for kids to run around. When you say go, It can chase and tag people until they freeze. After a few seconds of the game, release Undo-It into the crowd of kids. Undo-It can tag frozen kids to unfreeze them. Play as time allows, changing who plays the roles as the game goes on. After the game, gather kids together and tell them that this week, they’ll learn how Jesus shared with a man named Nicodemus that there is no way anyone can “undo” their sinful hearts on their own. But Jesus had a plan to save people anyway!
Live It Out
Game – Guess Who
Materials: blindfolds
Remind kids that Nicodemus went to Jesus in the dark of night so that other Pharisees wouldn’t see him. Tell kids that they will play a game to guess who is talking. Create two teams of kids and blindfold one team. Quietly choose one kid who is not blindfolded. Tell the child to say the Weekly verse or the Life Point, while the blindfolded kid guesses who it is. After one group is done guessing, change groups and continue in the same way. Lead kids to say the Life Point together.
Craft – Paper Plate Earth
Materials: paper plates, glue sticks, blue and green construction paper, black marker
Help kids cut out blue and green pieces of construction paper and stick them on paper plates to create what looks like the earth. In the middle of the earth, help them write “For God loved the World…” As kids work, review the Bible story. Remind them that the Bible tells that Jesus is the Savior.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Your Best Talent
Materials: none
As kids enter the space, encourage them to consider what is their best talent that they might want to share with the group. It can be an activity they love to do (maybe a sport or an art-form) or it can even be something they do in front of the group. Once kids arrive, allow each one to share his talent. Once all the kids have shared, tell them that Jesus revealed to Nicodemus the coolest thing He could do: save the world from sin!
Live It Out
Game – Weekly Verse Ball
Materials: 2 baskets, 2 balls
Place two baskets in the middle of your space and use masking tape to create a line ten feet from the baskets. Create two teams of kids. Each team will work together to complete the Weekly Verse before getting the opportunity to make a basket by tossing a ball into the baskets in the center of the room. Line kids up with their team behind the masking tape and pick a team to start. The first kid should say the first word of the Weekly Verse. If she says the right word, she will toss the ball into the basket and earn a point if she makes it. The next word goes to the next team. If that team says the wrong word or cannot guess, it goes back to the previous team. If neither team gets it, tell them the word and move on to the next word. Play until you get through the whole verse!
Craft – Dark of Night
Materials: white paper, black watercolors, paintbrushes, water, white crayons
Lead kids to write the Life Point on a white piece of paper with white crayons then draw stars around the border of the paper. Remind them to press hard on the crayons as they write and draw. When they finish, they can paint over the white crayon with black. The white crayon should resist the paint and show through. Remind kids that Nicodemus went to Jesus in the dark of night and heard this great news!
Katie Hill says
Wow, The Bible Studies for Life Teacher’s Book for 1st and 2nd grade for the summer 2022 sure did need quality control. “Jesus Taught Nicodemus” has the materials for Joshua, “Lydia Believed in Jesus” turns into “God Protected Elijah”. Jonah gets a double lesson and it just continues. I cant be the only one to notice this. Unfortunate, because summer is our largest “substitute” months. I must say, until this, we have been very happy with the curriculum.
Kimba Campbell says
Hello Katie,
This is the first I have heard of this error. This must be a mistake in a batch of printing. I am going to email you a pdf of the full leader guide. I am also more than happy to send you a new leader guide. I will email you to get your address. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Kimba Campbell says
Can you email me at kimba.campbell@lifeway.com? I am not able to locate your email address. I can send you a pdf of the leader guide and also mail you a new leader guide.
Kimba Campbell says
I found your email address so I will email you now.