Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Galaxy Slime
Materials: homemade galaxy slime (clear school glue, liquid starch, liquid watercolor or food color), fine glitter
Before the session, make blue galaxy slime. Pour 5-ounce bottle of glue in a bowl. Add drops of blue liquid watercolor or food color and fine glitter. Mix well. Add a small amount of starch and mix well. Continue adding starch and mixing until you reach the desired slime consistency. (You will need about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of starch.)
For more “galaxy” effect to the slime, make a batch of blue, violet, blue-green (turquoise), and white slime, following the directions above for each color. After all colors are made, swirl the slime together.
Guide kids to mix the colors to get the galaxy effect. They can stretch and pull the slime to explore it. Say Genesis 1:1 with the kids and tell kids they will learn that God created the world from nothing.
If your time permits, bring the ingredients for kids to make the slime for the introductory activity. Offer small ziplock bags for kids to take home some of the galaxy slime.
Live It Out
Game – Hoop Toss
Materials: chairs, plastic hoops, tape
Place one or more chairs in the middle of the game area. Space chairs a couple of feet apart. Use tape to create a tossing line a few feet from the chairs.
Guide kids to stand at the tossing line. They can take turns tossing plastic hoops, trying to get a hoop around a chair. When the hoop rings a chair, ask a review question. Continue playing, reviewing the Bible story. After asking questions, lead kids to repeat the Life Point when the hoop rings a chair.
Craft – Suncatcher
Materials: clear contact plastic, tissue paper (in shades of yellow, gold, and orange), paper, marker
Talk about the Bible story. Talk about God creating the world from nothing. Say that the first thing God created was light. Give kids a piece of paper; tell them to draw a simple sun, flower, or other shape. They then can remove the backing from a piece of contact plastic and lay it, sticky side UP, over the simple drawing. Tell them to arrange tissue paper on the sticky plastic, using the shape they drew as a guide. (Some kids may prefer to make a more abstract design with the tissue paper.) Tell kids to write the words of the Life Point on a small piece of paper and attach to the plastic, too. When they have completed sticking tissue paper on the plastic, they can remove the backing from another piece of clear contact plastic and carefully place this over their design. Suggest they smooth the plastic and trim away the excess plastic, especially sticky edges. Tell kids to tape the suncatcher to a window as a reminder of God the Creator.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Sort Words
Materials: paper squares or cards with words, one per card: sun, moon, stars, grass, apple tree, daisy, elephant, parrot, armadillo, monkey, donkey, giraffe, goldfish, shark, whale, jellyfish, jonquil, sunflower, bluebird, mockingbird, ladybug, cricket, snake, alligator, cloud, lake, ocean, river, deer, dog, cow, horse, eggplant, oak, rock, soil, gravel, planet, asteroid, lion, zebra, starfish, clam
Guide kids to sort the words. Do not give them any particular criteria for sorting. Encourage them to choose how to sort the words. After they have sorted, listen for the ways they chose to sort. Challenge them to sort the words in a different way. Tell kids: “All these words name things in nature. Today we will talk about the beginning of the world.”
Live It Out
Game – Toss It, Name It
Materials: paper with letters, one letter per page (or large letter tiles); beanbag
Scatter the letters throughout the game area. Lead kids to take turns tossing the beanbag on the letters. When a child lands on a letter, he can name something in the natural world (something that God made) that begins with that letter. Increase the challenge by removing letters as they are used or by telling kids they must name something that has not been previously named. Talk about the Bible story and say the Life Point. Pray and thank God for His creation.
Craft – Creation Sculpture
Materials: air dry clay, molding tools, plastic plates
Give kids plates and a ball of clay. Tell them to mold something that God made. They can create only one item or a group of items for their sculptures. Talk about the Bible story and the Life Point. Suggest kids place their sculptures somewhere to remind them of God the Creator, who created the world from nothing.
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